WorldSkills Ireland: talented students and apprentices

More than 30,000 students from across Ireland headed to the RDS last week to attend the WorldSkills Ireland 2024 showcase.

This unique partnership between the Government, education and industry is aimed at outlining the broad variety of career opportunities and educational pathways across the skills industry.

From 25-27 September, 170 students and apprentices competed at the live national competitions to demonstrate their talent while tackling projects and briefs in 33 competitions.

In 2017, WorldSkills Ireland launched their showcase event to develop skills and highlight apprenticeships and undergraduate courses, bringing them in front of a live audience of prospective students, teachers and parents.

Now, the live event takes place every year.

“Our event isn’t about handing out leaflets,” says Ray English, chair of WorldSkills Ireland 2024. “It’s about talking with employers, connecting with education opportunities, and seeing what your career might look like.”

He believes work is needed to improve the perception of apprenticeships and alternative pathways.

“The Government’s approach is quite dated – things have changed. The way that each student negotiates their career pathway can be different, there are so many options now outside the traditional route. This competition is about presenting those options and also putting value on them,” says Ray.

There are many opportunities with the current skills and labour shortages, Ray adds, particularly in ICT and construction where students are learning as they are earning.

“You’re earning an income, gaining an education and a qualification that will stand to you for years while also contributing to society,” explains Ray.

Team Ireland secured five medallions of excellence at WorldSkills in Lyon last month. From 10-15 September, the French city welcomed the 47th WorldSkills competition with young competitors from all over the world.

Ireland has been competing in Lyon since 1957.

Two winners from Lyon who also competed on the national stage at WorldSkills Ireland in the RDS were Liam Roche from Wexford, in digital construction, and Sean McLoughlin from Kildare, in electrical installations.

Liam Roche, Co Wexford

Liam Roche is just one of the competitors who headed to WorldSkills, “I was delighted to compete in Lyon – it was a massive competition and everyone was there for the same reasons and there was a real sense of community,” says Liam.

“I said from day one that I didn’t mind if I came last – it was the experience of going and meeting different people from different cultures that mattered. I ended up placing fourth overall and got a medallion of excellence.

“As a child, I was always playing Lego and Minecraft, I was interested in building and architecture. I didn’t have the best time in school and I ended up dropping out before the Leaving Cert.

“I went through the QQI [Quality and Qualifications Ireland] route to get into college and that let me experience the trades a bit. I did a construction course in Wexford and then did engineering at the vocational college in Enniscorthy.

“Through the PLC, I got into SETU Waterford. I’m not the most artistic person in the world, I’m more technical, which led me through the route of architectural technology in Waterford – it is digital construction focused, so that’s where the interest came from.

“There’s so much pressure put on young people at 17 or 18, that you need to know exactly what you want to do with the rest of your life.

“I’m a little older than most, finishing college at 24, and I still have my whole career ahead of me.”

Kelly Mairs, Co Donegal

Kelly Mairs also competed in the WorldSkills competition in the RDS last week, having completed the National Craft Butchery Apprenticeship Programme with MSLETB Sligo TC.

“When I decided to pursue an apprenticeship, I knew I was taking a different path than most of my friends, but it was right for me,” she says.

“The hands-on experience I’m gaining is invaluable, and I’m learning the craft from the ground up, working with quality ingredients, and honing my skills in a way that a traditional classroom setting can’t offer.

“There are so many great opportunities out there for those who choose to start their careers through an apprenticeship programme. You get to learn directly from industry professionals while earning and growing in your field.

“Competing on the national stage at WorldSkills Ireland, against the best from across the country, was an incredible honour, I was very excited to represent my trade.

“Being a female in the butchery industry has its challenges. There can be good and bad days like anything else.

“It’s when I see young girls coming into our shop and taking an interest in (butchery) – that’s what makes it all worthwhile.

“I’d love to encourage any female who may have an interest to work in a field that would have a stronger male presence to just go for it.

“I think that it is important for anyone who may be unsure of what they want to do as a career to explore their options.”

Sean McLoughlin, Co Kildare

Sean McLoughlin has had an international experience with WorldSkills.

“I competed last year in the RDS at a national level, and then I flew to China at the end of June and competed twice in the communications project.

“My father had his own company and I always knew I was going to end up somewhere in the trade. I was doing my Leaving Cert during the pandemic so we were one of the years that got predicted grades. I was delighted and registered with SOLAS – straight away I was on the system and ready to go.

“In phase two of my apprenticeship, I went to Tullamore. I found it a slower pace as I was so used to being busy. I learned a lot there but I enjoyed phases four and six more in Sligo.

“During my time in Sligo, my lecturer asked me if I would compete in the WorldSkills competition. I went into the mentality that I had nothing to lose, I went on and won the preliminary cycle and qualified for the RDS.

The level of detail we went into in training, you wouldn’t even think it. I finished college in the middle of June after passing all my exams

“It was great to see my parents and how proud they were, especially my dad, he backed me and gave me the time off I needed to practise.

“It was a great experience to compete in Lyon – I’ve been training for it since last January. The level of detail we went into in training, you wouldn’t even think it. I finished college in the middle of June after passing all my exams.

“I think some people still look down on apprentices and there isn’t enough emphasis on them.

“But what they don’t know is that there are so many opportunities now, and it is not just the trade ones, you can do accountancy and business.

“For me, it was one of the best ways of learning and getting paid as you go. I think a lot of the schools don’t want their students to go into apprenticeships and as a result, guidance counsellors don’t speak about them enough.”

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