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Congratulations to ���ϳԹ���’s Oscar McNaughton and Team UK who achieved tenth place winning: 4 medals (2 silver and 2 bronze) and 12 Medallions for Excellence at the 47th WorldSkills competition in Lyon, France this month.

Oscar was the first person ever to represent the UK in Additive Manufacturing at the competition. He completed both his undergraduate and master’s degrees in design and has secured an apprenticeship at , an industry-focused facility specialising in advanced research, new product development, and batch manufacturing, based at the University.

Oscar said: “The support from everyone has been incredible, especially as I balance work and training. ���ϳԹ��� has been brilliant at accommodating my training.” 

“The hard skills I’ve gained are invaluable and will definitely help in my career, but the soft skills are equally important. WorldSkills has been transformative for my self-confidence, problem-solving, and resilience.

“This was the first year this skill was brought to the competition. It was great to be part of something so valuable, meet all the competitors, and enjoy the experience with the rest of Team UK.

“Everyone should get involved with WorldSkills UK. It’s a brilliant opportunity to learn valuable new skills, meet new people, and represent your country.” 

Lee Pratt, Advanced Skills Manufacturing Academy manager at ���ϳԹ��� said: “We are all immensely proud of what Oscar has achieved. He has displayed competency, professionalism, and composure at the highest level throughout his journey.  He has put both Wales and the UK on the global map in terms of our capability in Additive Manufacturing. 

“We are extremely lucky to have such bright young talent in our team. It has been a privilege to support Oscar along the way.”

Apprentices and students of vocational qualifications from across the UK demonstrated their world-class skills on the global stage at Lyon.

The members of Team UK, selected, mentored and trained by , have been recognised as among the most skilled young people in the world by leading global industry experts following their medal winning performance at WorldSkills Lyon 2024, known as the ‘skills Olympics’. 

Over 1500 young people from 69 countries competed over four days of tough competition in 62 different skills at  Lyon.  Over 250,000 spectators watched the event.

WorldSkills UK, a four nations partnership between education, industry, and UK governments, uses the insight it gains from participating in the international WorldSkills Competition to embed world-class training standards across the UK.  Pearson, the world’s lifelong learning company is the official partner of Team UK for WorldSkills Lyon 2024.

Ben Blackledge, Chief Executive, WorldSkills UK said: “It is fantastic to be in the top ten once again at WorldSkills. It’s brilliant to see that our continued focus on raising the quality and standard of skills is delivering, not only for Team UK but the country as a whole. High quality skills development is crucial to growing the economy, and Team UK’s medal-winning performance in front of a global audience sends a strong message that the UK is a world-class place to invest, develop talent and create jobs.”

Further Information

Rebecca Davies

Executive Press and Media Relations Officer    
Corporate Communications and PR    
Email: rebecca.davies@uwtsd.ac.uk    
Phone: 07384 467071