UK SkillPlumb winner excels at WorldSkills in Canada
Christopher Lonsdale, SummitSkills’ SkillPlumb 2008 champion, has returned from WorldSkills in Canada with a medallion of excellence in the plumbing and heating contest. WorldSkills is the largest skills-based competition in the world.
He was one of 26 young and talented individuals representing Team UK in the competition and came seventh out of a total of 17 competitors, just missing out on a bronze medal.
He comments, ‘I was devastated to miss out on winning a medal by just 10 points, but pleased to be recognised as a high-scoring competitor [with 520 points] with a medallion of excellence. I’ve always been competitive, and I’ve previously competed in three national-final competitions. I owe thanks to my family and friends for the support they have given me, along with my tutors at New College Durham.
Keith Marshall, chief executive of SummitSkills, says, ‘Taking part in WorldSkills is a huge achievement in itself, and Christopher’s achievement demonstrates just how talented the UK building-services-engineering industry is.’
900 people took part in the biennial WorldSkills competition over four days.