Medal joy for student Mark

A Shotts student who won gold at this year’s UK Skills Show has been honoured by his employer, who has tipped him as one of Scotland’s top tradesmen of the future.

City of Glasgow College HND Constru c t i o n student, Mark Scott, 20, was praised for his achievement by both the company he works for and City of Glasgow College at a ceremony at its City campus.

Mark was one of 17 students who travelled to Birmingham’s NEC for this year’s UK Skills Show and who helped the college take the overall top spot in the competition.

A delighted Mark said: “I wasn’t expecting to win at WorldSkills UK and I certainly wasn’t expecting to be awarded this. It’s a little overwhelming. It’s amazing to be recognised by my employer in this way; they are an incredibly supportive employer.”

Paul Little, principal and chief executive at City of Glasgow College, attended the ceremony and said: “We are delighted to see Mark honoured for his gold medal win at the Olympic Games of skills competitions. Thanks to our students’ outstanding performance in Birmingham, City of Glasgow College is once again the top college in the UK for skills and Mark should be very proud indeed of his achievements.”

Mark’s employer Jim McGoldrick, owner of J. McGoldrick and Sons Ltd, said: “The fact is that Mark has put in the time and effort to win this accolade. Mark is a very easy person to work with, he’s very approachable and he has a keen eye for the ceramic trade. He is dedicated and passionate; we believe that in the future he will be one of Scotland’s top tradesmen. With him winning, it feels as if we’ve won the award ourselves – we are absolutely delighted as a company.”

City of Glasgow College took three gold medals, three silvers, two bronze and a highly commended.

Winners were presented with their medals at the closing ceremony of UK Skills 2017 which took place at Birmingham’s NEC and saw a record 80,000 spectators attend the event and some 500 young people compete across 55 subject areas.