Medal joy for apprentice
A TEES Valley apprentice has proved to be a world beater at the Skills Olympics in Japan.
Simon Noble, 21, from Billingham, formed part of a 22-strong British team competing in WorldSkills 2007, an intense four-day competition showcasing the talent of apprentices around the world.
Simon, an autobody repair apprentice at Simon Bailes Peugeot, won bronze at the event, which sees contestants compete in a variety of occupational categories from sheetmetal work, plumbing and autobody repair, to graphic design, IT and web design.
Speaking from Japan, Simon said: “I am absolutely over the moon with the result. I’ve been training practically all year for this and I really wanted to do well, not just for me but for the whole team, for my industry and my country.
“It was a great honour to have been chosen to represent the UK and to be able to show the world just what I can do is an amazing feeling.”
In total, the UK scored one gold, one silver, two bronzes and nine medallions of excellence in the event.
More than 200,000 spectators saw Simon and the rest of the team achieve 11th place in the world, up one place from 2005.
John Denham, secretary of state said: “WorldSkills is about raising the status and the standards of vocational education.
“Forty-nine nations competed highlighting how essential these skills are globally. “For our team to have achieved such great results proves we have skills in this country at world class levels.
“Throughout their training and the competition the team showed magnificent pride in their work. I hope that young people seeing what has been achieved in Japan will feel inspired to take up skills they can excel at professionally.”
