Galashiels girl ‘Going for Gold’ in global competition

WorldSkills London 2011, the largest international skills competition in the world, takes place at ExCeL over four action-packed days from 5 – 8 October. Crown Trade is the presenting sponsor of the Painting & Decorating competition which will bring together the finest young craftspeople from across the globe, all keen to prove themselves to be the ‘best of the best’.

In the last issue of Decorating Matters we introduced the three talented young decorators in the UK Squad.  Now, the final UK Team selection event  has taken place and the judges have decided which of the three will go on to represent the UK in the world’s most prestigious painting and decorating competition.

Heading for WorldSkills London 2011

It was a very closely fought selection event but the UK representative in the 2011 P&D competition, heading for ExCel, is 22-year old apprentice Rachel Terras from Galashiels.
Rachel who is coming to the end of her studies at Borders College was encouraged by tutor Barbara Hastie to enter skills competitions at an early stage, and is a veteran of the Crown Trade Apprentice Decorator of the Year Competition where her outstanding performances led to her being invited to try for a place on the WorldSkills London 2011 UK Squad. 
Rachel will be one of a 43-strong UK team competing at WorldSkills London 2011. The final line-up was announced on 29th June by Skills Minister John Hayes during the National Apprenticeship Awards.

A delighted Rachel said:” I’m absolutely over the moon to have got through, and to have got my place in the UK team. It’s good to know that all the hard work and effort I put into the training and assessment process has finally paid off. I can’t tell you how happy my mum was when I told her the news that I was going to compete at WorldSkills and how proud all my family and my boyfriend are of me!”

Encouragement from employers

Rachel’s bosses at McMillan Hotels are also very pleased with their apprentice’s achievements. A representative of the McMillan family said “We’re delighted that Rachel, one of our team of decorators at Peebles Hydro Hotel, will be representing the UK at WorldSkills. Rachel is the kind of enthusiastic and hardworking young employee that every company hopes to find, and she is a great example of how skill and determination can lead to success in any field.

“As a hotel company, we employ many young people - often we are their first employer.  It is always very rewarding to see them make a success of themselves through their own hard work and effort.  We wish Rachel every success in the competition and will continue to support her in every way we can.

Congratulations and commiserations

Pete Walters, WorldSkills P&D Training Manager and Technical Expert said that all three decorators in the 2011 UK Squad - Rachel Terras, Sadie Jones and Thomas Waudby – had achieved exceptional standards in the final stages of the selection process but Rachel had “really managed to raise her game most of all when it mattered and put in a superb performance”.

He commiserated with Sadie and Thomas but commented that they were both ‘extremely talented young people’ who had benefitted enormously from their experiences and training over the last few months and he was sure that, with their finely tuned skills and abilities, a great future lay ahead of them.

Kevin O’Donnell, Crown Paints National Product Trainer & Competition Manager, has seen at close hand how far all three of the young decorators have progressed since they entered their very first Crown Trade regional competitions. “As a result of doing well in skills competitions such as ours over the years and being selected for the WorldSkills Squad, they have not just developed their painting and decorating craft skills to a very high standard...they’ve also matured, gained self-confidence, and acquired new life skills too.

 Any one of the three would have made terrific ambassador for the UK. It’s been very rewarding for me and for all the other members of the Crown team to have been involved in that development process and to see them achieve their full potential.”

He concluded: “However, our focus is now on Rachel and we’re all hoping she will follow in the footsteps of fellow Scot Mark Nevin from East Calder who, after winning Crown Trade’s national competition back in 2005, eventually went on to be selected for the WorldSkills 2009 in Calgary. Mark put in a phenomenal performance and brought a gold medal and a ‘Best in Nation’ award back to Scotland. Let’s wish Rachel the very best of luck and hope she can do the same in London this autumn.”

For further information:

www.worldskillslondon2011.com

www.worldskillsteamuk.org