A tiling student from Northern Ireland has been named one of the best future tiling professionals in the world, after claiming a Medallion of Excellence at the WorldSkills competition.
Mark Woods gained the distinction in the Wall and Floor Tiling segment of the competition, which was held in Leipzig, Germany, last week. He helped the overall Team UK to achieve a total medal tally of two gold, one silver and four bronze, and 17 Medallions of Excellence.
The teams from all over the world represented a range of practical professional skills, including car painting, wall and floor tiling, plastering and dry wall systems, joinery, bricklaying, floristry, beauty therapy, hairdressing and aircraft maintenance.
Team UK faced competition from more than 1,000 young people from 50 countries from all over the globe. Northern Ireland’s Employment and Learning Minister, Dr Stephen Farry, told the Impartial Reporter newspaper that he was very proud of Mark and of Team UK as a whole, which included nine representatives from Northern Ireland.
He stated: “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.
“This success is testament to the high standards of technical and professional training in our colleges and the commitment to excellence shown by our young people.”