As Barbados prepares to send a team to the 47th WorldSkills Competition, which takes place in Lyon, France, from September 10 to 15, 2024, two members of the WorldSkills Barbados training squad have made their country proud by earning Medallions for Excellence at the 2nd Belt and Road International Skills Competition hosted by WorldSkills China in the Chongqing municipality, June 24 to 26.
Competitors Nathan Daniel and Saida Shepherd-Jones were awarded Medallions for Excellence in Automobile Technology and Coffee-Making, respectively.
The students are part of the Barbados team invited by WorldSkills China to take part in the Belt and Road International Skills Competition, which was first held in 2019, and attracted teams from 44 countries and regions. This year’s competition hosted 18 skills, including Automobile Technology and Coffee-Making (which falls under Restaurant Service).
The Barbados team also includes Experts Wayne Wall (Automobile Technology), Roderick Prescod (Restaurant Service), and Team Leader Coral Ann Callender.
The Belt and Road International Skills Competition provided an opportunity for the WorldSkills Barbados Automobile Technology and Restaurant Service competitors to gain valuable international competition experience. It also gave Experts and TVET Council personnel an opportunity to assess the performance of competitors and network with international industry experts.
China joined WorldSkills in 2010, subsequently taking part in their first competition, WorldSkills London, in 2011. Since then, WorldSkills China has been on top of the Total Medal Points, and the Total Points Score tables for the last three consecutive WorldSkills International Competitions.
Mr. Daniel and Ms. Shepherd earned the opportunity to represent Barbados at the upcoming WorldSkills Lyon 2024 competition by meeting the score criteria on their way to gaining silver and gold medals, respectively, at the WorldSkills Barbados 2023 Competition.
They represented their respective training institutions, the Samuel Jackman Prescod Institute of Technology (SJPI) and the Barbados Community College (BCC). The WorldSkills Barbados training squad also comprises Hollyann Bailey, SJPI (Car Painting) and Moriah Hill, BCC (Cooking).
The 47th WorldSkills Competition is taking place in September, following the postponement of the 46th WorldSkills Competition in Shanghai, China, by one year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.