EK Apprentice joins TeamUK

An East Kilbride apprentice is set to join a group of professionals to take on the crème de la crème of their European peers in the first big skills pressure test of the post Brexit era – EuroSkills.

Mechanical Engineering: CAD apprentice, Lewis Batchelor, (21) will join Team UK – selected, trained and mentored by education and skills charity WorldSkills UK – to head to Austria in January, 2021, to do battle with more than 500 competitors from 27 countries who practice 45 different skills disciplines.

The competition in Graz, which was postponed due to the Covid crisis, is seen as an important indicator as to how the UK’s skills systems measure up against key economic competitors across Europe.

Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said:“It’s fantastic to see such a talented group of young people selected to represent Team UK. You should all be very proud to have been picked as ambassadors for our country and to showcase the world class technical and vocational education and training on offer across the UK.

“I look forward to championing the talent and skills of our young people for many years to come.”

Team UK will compete in a broad spectrum of disciplines ranging from engineering to construction, hospitality and digital and creative.

The fab fourteen have already been through an exhaustive year long process of regional competition, national finals and team selection to get to this point.

Now they face months of intensive training raising standards to elite international level, under the guidance of WorldSkills UK Training Managers.