9:57am Friday 3rd July 2009
BENTLEY trainee Chris Coates has been selected to represent the UK in at the World Skills 2009 competition in Calgary, Canada.
World Skills is a bi-annual event, which attracts competitors from over 50 countries and is effectively a Skills Olympics for young people aged between 18 and 23 years.
It sets world class standards in more than 40 skills categories ranging from plumbing and industrial electronics to web design and floristry.
The final selection events for the UK squad took place in June, with Bentley Motors hosting the CNC Milling and CNC Turning competitions. Two of Bentley’s trainees - Chris Coates and Elliot New – qualified for the CNC Milling final and 22-year-old Chris emerged as the overall winner.
As Elliot also achieved excellent results and is a strong contender for the 2011 event, UK Skills confirmed that he will also go to Calgary to support Chris and experience the competition environment.
Andrew McLean, a tooling and prototype technician at Bentley who has acted as Chris’ training manager, explained: “Chris demonstrated tremendous levels of skill and dedication to reach the final and we are delighted that all his hard work has paid off.
“The competition last week was extremely tough and we did our best to replicate the conditions of the finals in Calgary by inviting lots of visitors to see the boys in action.
“A good number of those visitors came from local schools so we hope that Chris and Elliot have inspired other young people to find out more about apprenticeships in our industry”. Chris commented:
“I’m really pleased that all the hard work has paid off and I’ve been selected to join the UK team.
“The competition in Calgary will be intense but we have undergone a lot of training to prepare us for the finals and I will give it my best shot!”
Christine Gaskell, Bentley’s member of the board for personnel, added: “Everyone at Bentley is incredibly proud of Chris and his selection for the UK team at World Skills 2009 and we wish him the very best of luck for the competition.”
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