Toyota Manufacturing UK Apprentices selected for Team UK at EuroSkills 2016

After excelling in the National Finals of the WorldSkills UK Competitions, two Toyota Manufacturing UK apprentices, Sam Hillier (Burnaston, Derbyshire) and Tom Revell (Deeside, Flintshire), have been selected to represent Team UK within the Mechatronics skill category at the EuroSkills competition in Gothenberg.

Taking place from 1 to 3 December, EuroSkills will see the most talented young people from over 30 European countries come together to compete in over 35 different skill areas ranging from engineering and construction through to creative and hospitality. The competitors all have one aim - to win a Gold medal in their chosen skill and prove they are the best in Europe.

Skills Minister Nick Boles said: “The young people who have earned a place on Team UK are worthy ambassadors and show the great things you can achieve with high quality apprenticeships and technical training. I congratulate each and every member of Team UK and look forward to hearing about their performance at EuroSkills Gothenburg 2016.”

Dr Neil Bentley, Chief Executive, WorldSkills UK said: “Our findings have shown that skills competitions enable apprentices to develop and build on the skills that businesses are crying out for. By entering international competitions, we can benchmark the employability skills of our apprentices with those from the rest of Europe, ensuring more young people are being equipped with the right skills to help UK businesses better compete globally.”

Tom Revell, Toyota Manufacturing UK apprentice, who will represent the UK in Mechatronics said: “When I found out that I had been selected to represent the UK at EuroSkills I was thrilled. My apprenticeship at Toyota has opened so many doors for me and to be able to say I could be the best in Europe at my job has made me determined to give it my all. From now until December I will be spending every spare minute I have training for the competition.”

Members of Team UK will now go on to complete an intensive training programme, supported by their trainers, employers and training providers. The competitors who take part in EuroSkills this year will also go onto compete for a place in the team that will represent the UK at WorldSkills, the largest international skills competition, which takes place every two years. The next WorldSkills Competition will take place in Abu Dhabi from 14 to 19 October, 2017.

ENDS

For more information, please contact Helen Hydes at Toyota Manufacturing UK on 01332 283607

For further information from WorldSkills visit http://worldskillsuk.org/
http://worldskillsuk.org/news-and-events/our-news/worldskills-uk-news/team-uk-announced-for-euroskills-gothenburg-2016

Note to Editors

Toyota Manufacturing UK produces Avensis, Auris, Auris Touring Sport and Auris Hybrid models at its vehicle manufacturing plant at Burnaston, Derbyshire, and petrol and hybrid engines at its engine manufacturing plant at Deeside, North Wales. In 2015, TMUK produced 190,161 vehicles, 239,728 engines for export and local assembly at plants across the world. To date, Toyota has invested over £2.2 billion into its UK manufacturing operations and currently employs over 3,300 members.

About WorldSkills The charity WorldSkills UK champions world-class apprenticeships and technical skills. We do this by engaging young people in skills competitions, delivering experiential careers events, role modelling to challenge stereotypes and using our research to support the apprenticeship agenda. WorldSkills UK brings together WorldSkills UK Skills Competitions, The Skill Show and WorldSkills UK Champions. WorldSkills UK manages the UK’s entry into the international skills competitions EuroSkills and WorldSkills.