The outstanding skills of six young JCB apprentices are set to make an impact on the world stage after it was revealed that a second talented team is bidding for international honours.
The two teams from JCB Transmissions in Wrexham are gearing up to represent Wales when they compete for places in the UK teams destined for WorldSkills competitions in Russia and China.
The first three-strong team of apprentices Kendal Irvine (20), Dylan Edwards (20) and George Walker (22), is bidding for a Squad UK place in Kazan, Russia next summer, while a new trio of trainees is following in their footsteps to bid for a place in the national squad for Shanghai, 2021.
Tooling Engineer Apprentices Alfie Beeson (20) and Tomas Davies (17) and General Apprentice Cameron Pemberton (18) were awarded the silver medal in the Manufacturing Challenge of the WorldSkills UK National Skills Competition Finals in Birmingham, last month.
They have now been invited to compete to be members of Squad UK which will participate at WorldSkills Shanghai in 2021.
In the lead-up to the qualifying event at WorldSkills UK LIVE in November 2019, the apprentices will receive training from WorldSkills UK funded by the Welsh Assembly Government with JCB giving their full backing.
“We are the first-ever team to be invited to join the Squad UK longlist in its first year of entering the competition,” said Alfie Beeson.
Managing Director of JCB Transmissions, Robert Owen said: “We are immensely proud of the achievements of all six apprentices. The skills they develop in this competition – creativity, engineering expertise and attention to detail – are vital to our future business success and will stand them in good stead throughout their careers.”
