Employment and Learning Minister, Dr Stephen Farry highlighted that Northern Ireland performed better than any other UK region at WorldSkills London 2011.

At a ceremony held in Parliament Buildings to celebrate the success of Northern Ireland's competitors, the Minister said: "This has been Northern Ireland's most successful WorldSkills ever. It is important to acknowledge Northern Ireland’s performance at WorldSkills London, so that we can not only applaud it, but also learn from it and spread the message about the quality of our professional and technical training and the world class skills of our workforce more widely.

"The fact that Northern Ireland consistently wins medals is testament to the skills, hard work and dedication of our workforce and the quality of our training provision. This is one of the reasons that my Department is committed to supporting skills competitions locally, nationally and internationally."

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The Minister also praised all those who trained and supported the competitors: "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."

Northern Ireland's representation on Team UK was the highest per head of population of any of the UK regions, as was their performance in winning medals. Team UK won an impressive five gold, two silver and six bronze medals.

Seven young people from Northern Ireland formed part of the 43 person Team UK and won gold, silver and bronze medals along with two Medallions for Excellence.

A gold medal in bricklaying was awarded to Philip Green, student at Belfast Metropolitan College and self-employed at DG Green and Sons, Lisburn. A silver medal in landscape gardening was awarded to James Cuffey. A bronze medal in refrigeration and air-conditioning was awarded to South Eastern Regional College student, Stuart Millar from Loughgall. In addition to the three medals, two students, Mark McGinty and Chris Downey from Northern Regional College, won Medallions for Excellence in mechatronics. This honour is awarded to those competitors who reach the world class level in their skills discipline.

Following the success of WorldSkills London 2011 it was announced by the Skills Funding Agency and the National Apprenticeship Service that the annual cycle of WorldSkills UK National Competitions will culminate every year in a major event which will take place at a single public venue, over one week in October. This will provide a public showcase of further education, apprenticeships and training, celebrating the very highest achievements of learners.

(CD)