An apprentice with County Armagh company Shilliday Refrigeration, looks set for a bright future, after coming third in the world's largest ever international skills competition.

Pitted against rivals in his category from 25 other countries, Stuart Millar won a bronze medal at the global skills competition WorldSkills London 2011. He was one of seven young people from Northern Ireland who earned a place in 'Team UK', enabling them to take part in the prestigious event at ExCeL in London where Stuart competed in the refrigeration and air conditioning category.

Employed as an apprentice engineer at Shilliday's, refrigeration and air conditioning specialists at Ballinahonemore Road Armagh, and a student at South Eastern Regional College in Lisburn, Stuart was supported by his mentor at Shilliday, Service Manager Peter O'Prey.

"Everyone at Shilliday is immensely proud of Stuart," said Peter. "It's very rewarding to see that our training is helping apprentices like Stuart hone their skills to such a high level and of course it’s an investment for us too as a company."

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With more than 200,000 spectators watching his every move in the competition, 21 year-old Stuart had to stay cool and think cool for the series of challenging tasks he had to complete over four days of competition which included building an industrial fridge from scratch and installing an air conditioning system.

"That's where my training came to the fore," he said. "Some of the tasks, such as building the freezer cabinet and an air conditioning unit, I had done before at college and at Shilliday's. I had to 'go in blind' for the two other elements of finding and fixing faults in mechanical and electrical components but my training stood me good stead.

"I was so focused on what I was doing I didn't really notice the crowds," said Stuart. "But what I do remember is the huge support I got from everyone at Shilliday, and my friends and family. I made some wonderful friends and met some talented people. It was an experience I will never have again."

Stuart's win was the culmination of many months of intensive training both at Shilliday's and the South Eastern Regional College. "The standard of training I received was really high," said Stuart. "Peter O'Prey was very helpful all the way through and Shilliday's gave me a lot of time off for extra training. They really supported me and I always felt they were rooting for me to do well."

Commenting on the achievements of Stuart and his fellow team members, Employment and Learning Minister, Dr Stephen Farry, said: "This is an outstanding achievement not only for the young people, but also for their families, employers and tutors who have supported them throughout their training and during WorldSkills, and I want to congratulate them all on their awards."

(CD)