Learn more about our speakers

(Technical Masterclasses)

Frazer Minskip: Training Manager and Expert: Automotive Body Repair, WorldSkills UK High Performance Skills Coach, WorldSkills UK

Frazer has been the WorldSkills UK Training manager/Expert for Autobody Repair for 10 years and has worked in 4 international competitions and as the Chief Expert in Abu Dhabi 2017.

Jens Søndergaard Hansen: WorldSkills Denmark

William Speed: Expert, Autobody Repair, WorldSkills Canada

William started teaching Auto body in a high school to promote careers in the Auto Body field. During his time teaching, he was exposed to Skills Canada, registering his first student in competition in 1992 and finishing with a silver medal. He chaired the Toronto District School Board competition until his retirement. In 1995 he took over the Skills Ontario competition which he still chairs today. William took his first competitor to the Skills Canada competition in 2001, finishing 3rd place. He has been involved at the National level as a judge, National Technical Committee member, co-chair and chair of the National competition, becoming the Canadian Expert in 2017 for Abu Dhabi and continuing into Kazan in 2019.  

Cecile Bukmeier: Expert, Car Painting, WorldSkills Canada

Cecile Bukmeier is an Auto Body apprenticeship instructor at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology in Canada. She began her career working in a traditional collision shop, and later expanded to custom paint and restoration. She enjoyed sharing her passion with apprentices and started formally training in 2016. Cecile competed in Car painting at the national Skills competition in 2013 and has since served on the provincial and national Skills Canada technical committee. She first became the Canadian expert in Car painting for WorldSkills Kazan 2019 and is continuing her role at her second WorldSkills event in Shanghai 2022. 

(Technical Masterclasses)

Richard Wheeler: Training Manager and Expert: Automotive Refinishing, WorldSkills UK Lecturer, Coleg Gwent

Richard first started with WorldSkills UK as the Car Painting TM in 2016 with only 12 months to prepare his first competitor for Abu Dhabi 2017. It was a tough 12 months and training was intense but it was a success as WSUK Daryl Head came away with a Silver Medal at Abu Dhabi 2017. The success continued to Kazan 2019 with Conor McKevitt also coming away with a Silver Medal. Richard has a proven track recorded is certainly going for Gold in Shanghai.

(Technical Masterclasses)

Barry McDaid: Training Manager: Automotive Technology, WorldSkills UK Lecturer and Curriculum Manager, North West Regional College

Barry is committed to helping young people improve their careers and abilities via competition and the preparation required to compete. He uses industry knowledge and experience to focus on training, planning and mentoring squad members for international competition. Barry is an experienced professional lecturer and curriculum manager working in technical vocational and FE education sector. He has been involved in the preparation and participation for the WorldSkills in Kazan.

Cat Treanor: UK Business Development Manager, Electude

Cat Treanor is a Certified Automotive Engineer and STEM ambassador. She started her career as an Automotive Technician and after some years in the trade was approached by Electude to become the UK Business Development Manager. She has now been with them for over 6 years. Cat is very passionate about encouraging diversity in the automotive industry and regularly presents at industry events worldwide to showcase the importance of equality in the trade and sharing her experience.

Dan Perry: UK Business Development Manager, Electude

Dan started his professional automotive career as apprentice at a small Renault dealer. After completing his Advanced Modern Apprenticeship and winning the Renault UK Level 3 Apprentice of the year competition, he transferred to a larger Renault dealer. Dan progressed from a technician to senior technician and then to a Renault Technical Expert (Master Technician). After 12 years working in main dealers, Dan transitioned into teaching at a local college where he spent 5 years as a Programme Manager and Course Leader for light vehicle and motorsport programmes. In 2019 Dan started at Electude as a UK Business Development Manager.

(WorldSkills UK Way: the art of teaching, training & assessment)

Pete Walters MBE: Skills Coach, WorldSkills UK

Pete has over 30 years’ experience working in the FE sector. His roles have included Head of learning for engineering and construction, quality lead, Team leader and lecturing in Construction trades. He was appointed UK Training Manager for Painting and Decorating in 2008 and consistently guided apprentices to the world class standard at WorldSkills, known as the ‘Skills Olympics’. Winning a Gold medal in 2009 and Medallions of Excellence at every competition from 2013 to 2017, Pete was appointed Competition Skills Manager for WorldSkills. Pete now works for the WorldSkills UK Centre of Excellence as a High-Performance Skills Coach to mainstream excellence through the delivery of a professional workforce development programme.

Kathryn Langford: Lead CPD Trainer, The Education and Training Foundation

Kathryn has over thirty years of experience within education working within schools, Further Education Colleges, Adult and Community Learning and the Armed Forces. Her roles have included Initial Teacher Training, Quality and Learning Improvement Management and national projects to support teaching and learning. Kathryn was a Regional Specialist Lead for Maths and English in the Midlands for the ETF and has delivered CPD on a range of topics from GCSE Maths to mentoring and coaching new teachers. Kathryn has developed learning programmes for Further and Higher Education, CPD courses, and engaged with practitioner research into issues such as active learning and effective questioning.

Chris Butler: Tutor of 3D Games Design and ICT, City of Liverpool College

Christopher has worked at the City of Liverpool College as a main grade lecturer for Games Development for the past 6 years. He specialises in most aspects of games development from 3D modelling, Animation/Mocap, Level design and game mechanics. Christopher has worked with several leading industries across Liverpool on collaborative projects such as Laing O’Rourke, Alder hey Hospital and Siemens PLC. His goal is to improve teaching and assessment across the games development sector using knowledge to better the student. He strives in using the latest innovative emerging technology such as VR, AR, Mocap and general development to keep in line with industry expectations.

Nadia Arab: Lecturer in IT, Havant & South Downs College

Nadia has taught in FE for 18 years and has taught level 1-3 digital technologies, course managed level 3 BTEC IT and Level 2 IT. She has taught tech support, HCI, computer systems, security, installing hardware and software and communication skills to name a few. Nadia has led on the digital T levels at HSDC and helped to develop the curriculum with the DFE, AoC and ETF. She taught the planning of T-levels to teaching staff from other colleges and was a runner up at the women in Tech awards 2018, nominated out of 700 women in the UK.

Dean Watson: Lecturer in Construction/Plumbing, Wirral Metropolitan College

Dean started his journey as a plumber part time around attending school. After leaving school he joined the Army before moving into full time plumbing. During a 4 year apprenticeship he was inspired by his tutor and at that point knew he wanted to pursue a career in teaching. Dean developed his knowledge and skills and moved into full time teaching, which allowed him to grow the quality of full time and apprentice learners. Always striving for excellence with his learners and promoting their work, he hopes to impact their learning and encourage them to inspire others.

Leanne Newitt: Lecturer Beauty and Media Make up, North Warwickshire & South Leicestershire College

An educator in both industry and FE for over 19 years, Leanne has predominantly called NWSLC her home; teaching up to level 5 in makeup artistry and Wig making. Within her role she has enabled enrichment possibilities which are inclusive to all by embedding competitions. To support this, Leanne became a member of the AHT executive committee and was recently part of the WorldSkills UK Centre of Excellence programme. Her students have achieved gold, silver, and bronze medals in regional and national competitions.

(Equity, Diversity and Inclusion)

Sarah Hack: Youth Engagement Specialist, Leaders Unlocked

Alongside a legal career at Knights PLC, Sarah works with Leaders Unlocked as a Youth engagement facilitator, and workshop co coordinator and researcher. As part of this role Sarah has gained specialism with engaging with underrepresented voices and young people from hard to reach backgrounds. Sarah has conducted research into offending/reoffending, mental health, race related issues, drug misuse, employment/careers and other areas. Examples of the projects Sarah has worked on are; The Student Commission for Racial Justice 2021, a member of the IOPC youth panel, Co-Ordinated the Youth Commission for Sussex and Brighton, Young Justice Advisors and many others.

Atif Bashir: Student Leader, Student Commission on Racial Justice

Atif is a full-time student at Leyton Sixth Form College. In addition, he is a Student Leader in the Student Commission on Racial Justice (SCRJ) led by Leaders Unlocked. He has brought concepts and skills to the project and has enjoyed participating in this amazing opportunity. Atif is also an Equality & Diversity Leader in the Student Council at Leyton Sixth Form College – his duties are to ensure every pupil gains equal opportunities and are treated equally as well as integrating measures to make sure equality & diversity remains at the college.

Carlos Moo Student Leader: Student Commission on Racial Justice Student Governor

Carlos is currently studying Law, Business, Financial Studies and Dance at Leyton Sixth Form College (LSC) where he is a Student Governor. Last year Carlos worked with Leaders Unlocked on the Student Commission on Racial Justice, creating an animation and a strategy and actions for colleges and other institutions to promote racial justice and address disparities effectively. Through working with Leaders Unlocked he developed life changing skills such as public speaking, team working and confidence. Carlos is passionate about acting and last year performed in a London theatre in a play which showed the reality of knife crime in London. 

Ellisha Soanes: Equality, Diversity and Digital Inclusion Coordinator/Lecturer, West Suffolk College

Ellisha’s specialist area is equality and diversity and she has worked in the education sector for the last 7 years and in health and social care for over 10 years. Ellisha is an advocate for diversity and mentors in the community to support young people meet their full potential. Ellisha has been influential in creating change, pioneering the first college ever to teach black history all year round at West Suffolk College. Ellisha and her team are working on innovating through the use of student led approach training , and collaborating with communities and business on equality and diversity.

Teresa Carroll: National Head of Inclusion, The Education and Training Foundation

Teresa leads on the Education and Training Foundation’s offer to the sector on offender learning, special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and mental health. She has worked for over 20 years across the housing, health and education sectors developing community led services, providing advocacy and in social policy roles to ensure that services meet the needs of those they are for. A beneficiary and champion of the Further Education sector and its life changing impact, Teresa works with others to remove the barriers that prevent people from maximising their potential.

Kerris Boulton: WorldSkills UK Skills Champion

Kerris Boulton (She/Her) is a keen advocate for Women in STEM. With over 10 years’ experience in an engineering field Kerris now works as an Employer Engagement Manager at SETA Training & Advisory Services in Stockport, Manchester, where she assesses and trains the future engineering workforce. Kerris also studies part time for a BEng in Electrical & Electronic Engineering at Sheffield Hallam University. After competing in WorldSkillsUK Industrial Electronics competition in 2018 – gaining a silver medal – Kerris became a Skills Champion where she helps to not only promote WorldSkillsUK, but apprenticeships and technical education.

Sidonie Bertrand-Shelton: Head of Education & Youth, Stonewall

Stonewall stands for lesbian, gay, bi, trans, queer, questioning and ace (LGBTQ+) people everywhere.  They’ve spent the past 30 years working towards a world where all children and young people have access to an LGBTQ-inclusive education. Sidonie has been supporting and leading this work at Stonewall for the last six years, and comes from a background of empowering and facilitating diverse youth voices in education.

(Technical Masterclasses)

Michael McGuire: Training Manager: Digital Construction, WorldSkills UK Lecturer, New College Lanarkshire

A lecturer and Autodesk Certified Instructor with 20 years Digital Construction experience and over 12 years structural steelwork and fabrication experience, Michael’s main responsibilities lie in the development and teaching of the Computer Aided Architectural Design and Technology courses at New College Lanarkshire. He leads in the development and delivery of the new National Curriculum in BIM/Digital Construction with a focus on the software and practical skills. Michael was appointed as the WorldSkills UK BIM Expert and Training Manager for the WorldSkills UK Digital Construction squad, training for their first year competing in Shanghai 2022.

Phillip Mueller: Head of Global Strategic Alliances, Autodesk

Philipp is a Further and Higher Ed Expert with 10+ years Construction and IT Industry Experience. As part of the Autodesk Education Team, he heads the WorldSkills International global Partnership supporting WorldSkills members countries within Construction, Manufacturing and Media & Entertainment. Philipp studied Architecture Technology at Technical University of Graz. Passionate about IT and sharing best practices he started creating YouTube Tutorials focused on BIM which reached over 1M views worldwide. In 2009 Philipp founded a consulting company supporting construction companies to streamline digital construction processes. Following his studies Philipp joined a major European contractor as BIM Manager working on various International Projects.

Gordon Chisholm: Chief Expert: Digital Construction, WorldSkills Ireland Lecturer

Registered Architect, Chartered Architectural Technologist & Certified Passive House Designer, Gordon has over 30 years experience in low energy design of domestic & commercial projects in Scotland, Ireland and Poland. Gordon is a principal member of the team integrating Building Information Modelling / Management (BIM) within The School of Engineering at Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT), taking a lead role over the last 16 years teaching & developing the BSc (Hons) Architectural & BIM Technology programme. Gordon is the WorldSkills Ireland Chief Expert for Digital Construction (BIM).

Diane Ramage: BIM Manager, Keppie Design Architectural Practice

Diane is an advocate of BIM and has taught and practiced within multiple sectors of the construction industry. She has developed policies for BIM and strategies, protocols and processes to achieve BSi BIM Kitemark certification under ISO 19650, and has successfully implemented a software strategy and workflow function while raising awareness and understanding of BIM standards through CPD events, workshops and on project training. She implemented and manages the use of the Autodesk Construction Cloud and was responsible for the restart of the Glasgow Revit User Group in 2017 and continues to lead the committee of the group.

(Technical Masterclasses)

Barry Skea: Training Manager: Mechanical Engineering CAD and Compatriot High Performance Skills Coach, WorldSkills UK

Barry is Head of Engineering at New College Lanarkshire and is seconded part-time to the WorldSkills UK Centre of Excellence programme. Working with the High-Performance Skills Coaches, Barry is responsible for driving the Centre of Excellence’s work in Scotland. Barry held the role of Senior Verifier for Computer Aided Technology on behalf of the Scottish Qualifications Authority for over ten years. He is a Board Member of the Developing Young Workforce in Lanarkshire and East Dunbartonshire. Barry is the college lead for SMART Hub Lanarkshire focusing on Advanced Manufacturing. He is the nominated Chief Expert in Mechanical Engineering CAD for WorldSkills Shanghai 2022.

Ryan Sheridan: Assistant Training Manager: Mechanical Engineering CAD, WorldSkills UK Lecturer, New College Lanarkshire

Ryan is currently a Lecturer in CAD at New College Lanarkshire and is the WorldSkills UK Assistant Training Manager for Mechanical Engineering CAD.  Ryan has judged at the WorldSkills UK National Qualifiers and Finals on many occasions.  He was Gold medal winning competitor at EuroSkills 2010 and won the Bronze medal at WorldSkills London 2011. Since 2012 Ryan has worked with the SQA to develop training and assessment material for Computer Aided Draughting and Design qualifications. He tried to embed the WorldSkills standards into mainstream education, to raise the standard of training and qualification to meet the needs of industry.

Steve Cox: Fusion 360 Expert, Autodesk

(WorldSkills UK Way: the art of teaching, training & assessment)

Cerian Ayres: National Head of Technical Education, The Education and Training Foundation

Cerian has worked in the Further Education and Skills sector for over twenty-five years, and she has extensive experience of the full range of Further and Higher Education, academic and technical vocational curricula. Her background in quality improvement and assurance has been instrumental in supplying organisations with the drive to work to achieve excellence in technical and academic teaching, learning and assessment that is both learner and employer responsive. She is the National Head of Technical Education at the Education and Training Foundation where she is responsible for the design, development, management, and delivery of significant programmes of support for providers delivering technical education to include T Levels, Apprenticeships, Technical Teacher Recruitment and Development programmes and ETF and Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851 Technical Teaching Fellowships 

Ben Houlihan: Head of Quality, Teaching & Digital Innovation

Ben has worked in Further and Higher Education for over 15 years across a range of teaching and management roles. He holds an MA in Lifelong Learning and most recently has been awarded an ETF and Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851 Technical Teaching Fellowship. 

Rosa Wells: Executive Director Employment and Skills and IoT, Solihull College and University Centre

Rosa is a former Aerospace Manufacturing Engineer and ETF and Royal Commission Technical Teaching Fellow. She is a firm advocate of flexible training solutions to ensure learning opportunities, linked to career development, are available to employees and individuals of all backgrounds, she has become more closely involved in supporting employers across all sectors with their learning and development planning and apprenticeship recruitment. Alongside Rosa’s College role as Executive Director Employment & Skills, she also leads the Greater Birmingham & Solihull Institute of Technology which is able to offer a wide range of apprenticeships and training courses to suit the needs of Advanced Manufacturing & Engineering employers across the region.

Chris Fairclough: Curriculum Operations Leader for Higher Engineering, Science and Nuclear

Chris has been working in the Further Education and Skills Sector for 4 years and began his career in the sector as a lecturer in the Nuclear Plant. Prior to working in the FE sector, he was a technical support engineer and an incorporated engineer within the nuclear industry and he was a subject matter expert for nuclear fuel inspection and storage. His experience in industry Chris believes really helps him to bring learning to life, which not only enables more efficient knowledge transfer, but has also allowed Chris to develop learners sector specific behaviours and practices.

Peter Hill: Director, Heathcoat Fabrics Limited

At Heathcoat Peter has been fortunate to work in a wide range of roles including Industrial Engineer, Planner, Production Manager and General Manager before becoming a Director. He is a firm believer in lifelong learning and has continued to improve his knowledge and skills and those of the company’s workforce. At Heathcoat he has had the opportunity to work on many exciting projects and new product developments from fabrics used in renewable energy systems to the special parachute fabric designed for NASA that was used to land the Perseverance Rover on Mars in February 2021.

(WorldSkills UK Way: the art of teaching, training & assessment)

Cerian Ayres: National Head of Technical Education, The Education and Training Foundation

Cerian has worked in the Further Education and Skills sector for over twenty-five years, and she has extensive experience of the full range of Further and Higher Education, academic and technical vocational curricula. Her background in quality improvement and assurance has been instrumental in supplying organisations with the drive to work to achieve excellence in technical and academic teaching, learning and assessment that is both learner and employer responsive. She is the National Head of Technical Education at the Education and Training Foundation where she is responsible for the design, development, management, and delivery of significant programmes of support for providers delivering technical education to include T Levels, Apprenticeships, Technical Teacher Recruitment and Development programmes and ETF and Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851 Technical Teaching Fellowships 

Ben Houlihan: Head of Quality, Teaching & Digital Innovation

Ben has worked in Further and Higher Education for over 15 years across a range of teaching and management roles. He holds an MA in Lifelong Learning and most recently has been awarded an ETF and Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851 Technical Teaching Fellowship. 

Rosa Wells: Executive Director Employment and Skills and IoT, Solihull College and University Centre

Rosa is a former Aerospace Manufacturing Engineer and ETF and Royal Commission Technical Teaching Fellow, who has been delivering employer responsive training for the engineering sector for over ten years. Rosa is a firm advocate of flexible training solutions to ensure learning opportunities, linked to career development, are available to employees and individuals of all backgrounds, she has become more closely involved in supporting employers across all sectors with their learning and development planning and apprenticeship recruitment.  Alongside Rosa’s College role as Executive Director Employment & Skills, she also leads the Greater Birmingham & Solihull Institute of Technology which offers a wide range of apprenticeships and training courses to suit the needs of Advanced Manufacturing & Engineering employers across the region; Rosa works with employers alongside university and college partners to refresh and update the apprenticeship offer in response to need and demand. The Institute of Technology is also working to ensure close collaboration across the region with Innovation and Applied Research opportunities. 

Chris Fairclough: Curriculum Operations Leader for Higher Engineering, Science and Nuclear

Chris has been working in the Further Education and Skills Sector for 4 years and began his career in the sector as a lecturer in the Nuclear Plant. Prior to working in the FE sector, he was a technical support engineer and an incorporated engineer within the nuclear industry and he was a subject matter expert for nuclear fuel inspection and storage. His experience in industry Chris believes really helps him to bring learning to life, which not only enables more efficient knowledge transfer, but has also allowed Chris to develop learners sector specific behaviours and practices.

Peter Hill: Director, Heathcoat Fabrics Limited

At Heathcoat Peter has been fortunate to work in a wide range of roles including Industrial Engineer, Planner, Production Manager and General Manager before becoming a Director. He is a firm believer in lifelong learning and has continued to improve his knowledge and skills and those of the company’s workforce. At Heathcoat he has had the opportunity to work on many exciting projects and new product developments from fabrics used in renewable energy systems to the special parachute fabric designed for NASA that was used to land the Perseverance Rover on Mars in February 2021.

(Education 4.0)

Andrew McGregor: Deputy Chief Innovation Officer, Jisc

Andrew is responsible for managing Jisc’s portfolio of research and development projects. These projects aim to develop new services that help universities and colleges improve education and research. In addition, he is responsible for Jisc’s work with edtech startups which is designed to help startups, universities and colleges work together to develop innovative new education and research products.

(WorldSkills UK Way: the art of teaching, training & assessment)

Pami Johal: Quality Manager & Head of Competitions, North Warwickshire & Hinckley College

Pami has been working in Further Education for over 15 years initially in a teaching capacity before moving into management. Her role is to quality assure for both Further Education Higher education courses that are delivered by college . She is responsible for developing curriculum, monitoring retention, achievement & success. In addition Pami supports and promotes competitions, coaching and develops staff. She has been involved with WorldSkills UK for the last 7 years and has been organising competitions for what is now Foundation skills.

Nerys Dennis: Section Manager, Toyota Motor Manufacturing UK

After graduating from The Nottingham Trent University with a First Class Honours Degree in Industrial Management, Nerys started her career with Toyota on the Graduate Training Scheme, starting in Production Control, then Learning and Development and more recently moving into Technical skills Development. She is responsible for Maintenance Development and the running of the Apprentice Development Centre, along with managing a small team that run the schools programmes and STEM education and outreach and is passionate about supporting and developing young people to be the best that they can be.

Claire George: Innovation Superhero, Bridgend College Sector Champion in IT & Enterprise

Claire’s passion for digital innovation comes from 30 years of working in FE as an IT lecturer. She now works for Inspiring Skills Excellence in Wales as the Sector Champion for IT & Enterprise. This pan-Wales role draws together industry specialists, educationalists and the brightest and best learners in a quest to put Wales on the map as a centre of excellence. Claire recognises the transformative power of skills competitions in enhancing the curriculum and providing opportunities for learners. She is the Digital Innovation Lead for Bridgend College and works with teams of curriculum experts to ensure use and progression of the latest technologies.

(Equity, Diversity and Inclusion)

Dr Ann Limb: Vice President and Founder, Helena Kennedy Foundation

A Mancunian by birth, Ann describes herself these days as a ‘philanthropist, mover & Quaker’, trying to navigate life by doing the least harm possible to people, places, and planet. Between 1976 and 2001, Ann enjoyed a successful career in Further Education becoming a College Principal in Milton Keynes and Cambridge, before moving into the civil service where she had responsibility for the UK government’s flagship digital initiatives, learndirect, UK online and gov.uk.

Sharon Blyfield: Head of Early Careers and Apprenticeships, Coca-Cola Europacific Partner

Sharon has been in the business for 28 years in a variety of functions and roles, now heading up the Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (CCEP) Early Careers agenda for Great Britain. Having spent the majority of her career developing young talent at the start of their careers, her current remit fits with her passion to create opportunities to support the next generation of young leaders. As part of her commitment, Sharon works with strategic partners who challenge organisation’s approach to under representation of young people across all communities and works to create a level playing field in the recruitment process that might unconsciously deselect from those groups.

Lauren Roberts: Youth Engagement, Executive City & Guilds

Lauren is the City & Guilds Foundation’s Youth Engagement Executive. Since starting at City & Guilds as an apprentice 7 years ago, Lauren has helped young people make informed choices about their future through apprenticeships, internships and work experience, based on her own lived experience. Recently Lauren has focused on bridging the gap between young people at risk of becoming NEET (Not in Education, Employment, or Training) and employers. Leading the way through advocacy work in several high-profile events, from a House of Lords committee meeting to an interview with the Skills & Apprenticeships Minister. She supports and connects the existing beneficiaries of the City & Guilds Foundation, such as bursary recipients for whom she is developing a dedicated alumni network. 

Nichola Hay MBE: Chief Operating Officer, Estio Training

Nichola has worked in the Further Education sector for over 20 years and is currently Chief Operating Officer of Estio Training, a specialist provider of digital and tech apprenticeships. In addition to her role at Estio Training, she is a Board Director of the AELP, Chair of AELP London and sits on the GLA’s Skills for Londoners Board. Nichola also sits on the Aviation Industry Skills Board and takes an active role in 14-19 strategic groups, policy groups and committees. Nichola passionately believes in the power of apprenticeships. As a result, she was recognised for her services to apprenticeships and skills and awarded an MBE.

Cat Treanor: UK Business Development Manager, Electude

Cat Treanor is a Certified Automotive Engineer and STEM ambassador. She started her career as an Automotive Technician and after some years in the trade was approached by Electude to become the UK Business Development Manager. She has now been with them for over 6 years. Cat is very passionate about encouraging diversity in the automotive industry and regularly presents at industry events worldwide to showcase the importance of equality in the trade and sharing her experience.

(Technical Masterclasses)

Calum Knott: Training Manager: Mechatronics, WorldSkills UK Senior Applications Engineer, Didactic Services (Festo partner)

Calum is currently Senior Applications Engineer at (Festo) Didactic Services Ltd, where he has responsibility for developing and training for the advanced manufacturing sector in the UK. As Mechatronics Training Manager for WorldSkills UK, Calum utilises approaches from elite sports, including mindset training and fast tracking technical development to ensure Squad UK are equipped to perform at the highest level. As a result, mechatronics competitors were successful in winning a bronze medal at EuroSkills Budapest 2018. Recently, Calum has advised WorldSkills UK on the development of the talent pipeline for Industry 4.0 through contribution to the development of the national competition. 

Marcin Regulski: Training Manager, Industry 4.0, WorldSkills UK Didactic Services (Festo partner)

Marcin is currently working as Applications Engineer at (Festo) Didactic Services Ltd, where he is responsible for developing and training for the advanced manufacturing sector in the UK in wide range of industrial automation related topics. As Industry 4.0 Training Manager for WorldSkills UK, Marcin is developing new training practises to introduce segments of Industry 4.0 concept to his competitors. Marcin currently holds the role of Chief Expert for WorldSkills Shanghai 2022. Through collaboration with other countries, he is working on strengthening the position of the Industry 4.0 competition on a national and international stage. 

Sasa Simovic: Skills Competition Manager: Industry 4.0, WorldSkills Germany

Kevin Kloosterman: Training Manager: Mechatronics, WorldSkills Netherlands

(Equity, Diversity and Inclusion)

Dr Amanda McNamee: Behavioural Psychologist and Senior Mental Fitness Scientist, Fika

Dr. Amanda McNamee is a Senior Mental Fitness Scientist at Fika. Amanda is a chartered Behavioural Psychologist and a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. Amanda is passionate about developing Fika’s scientific evidence base and rigorous evaluation process in both workplace and education settings. Before Fika, Amanda spent time at Ofsted as an Evaluation Lead and more than a decade in academia. Her primary research focused on positive and social psychology and their underpinnings in behavioural change.

Nick Bennett: Co-Founder and Co-CEO, Fika

Nick co-founded Fika to help solve the global problem of poor emotional health. With a background in fundraising, team building and product leadership in consumer and B2B, you’ll either find him on his mountain, screaming the Fika mission to the sky or in his boots, making pots of coffee for the team.

Dawn Baker: Director of Innovation and Investments, NCFE

Dawn Baker is currently Director of Innovation and Investments at NCFE, one of the UK’s leading Awarding Bodies, where her main responsibilities include new product development and investments which support NCFE’s charitable objectives and strategic aims. Previously she was Head of Marketing for a number of other blue chip companies including Sage (UK) ltd. 

(Technical Masterclasses)

Adam Youens: Training Manager: CNC Turning, WorldSkills UK Lecturer, Coleg Cambria

Adam has over 20 years of experience in CNC manufacturing, working as a CNC setter programmer, section leader and manufacturing engineer before moving into teaching. Adam teaches Engineering at Coleg Cambria. He has been involved with Skills competitions for the last four years, beginning as the lead for CNC skills competitions for the Inspiring Skills Excellence in Wales programme. In 2019 he judged the WorldSkills team selection, and was then appointed the WorldSkills UK Training Manager for CNC Turning. He has trained and mentored the UK’s competitor and facilitated international training sessions that have informed his understanding of international best practices.

Mike Watson: Training Manager: CNC Milling, WorldSkills UK CNC Programmer, GKN Aerospace

Mike has 10 years of experience in CNC manufacturing, as a CNC Machinist, in CNC Programming and applications engineering. Alongside his work at GKN Aerospace, Mike has participated in national, European and World finals. He began as lead for WorldSkills UK Live in 2015. In 2016 Mike became international expert for WorldSkills UK. He has since attended 3 international competitions, supporting the running of the competition and measuring and judging aspects of the competitors work. Training for this has led to a number of collaborations with other member countries where he has learnt many tips and tricks to improve best practice within CNC Milling.

Dieter Geisberger: Training Manager: CNC Turning, WorldSkills Austria

Dieter is CEO at ABZ technical training centre, in Braunau, Austria. He is passionate about improving the skills of young people through national and international skills competitions and works hard to facilitate the exchange of international best practices within the CNC skill, believing that this is the best way to improve the potential of young people. He has advised government bodies on improvements to vocational training in Austria, resulting in modern CNC skills becoming part of the curriculum. Dieter is Austrian national training manager for CNC turning and the chief expert responsible for the 2021 EuroSkills CNC turning competition.

Mark Aspinall: Technical Support Manager, Quickgrind

Mark is Technical Support Manager at Tewkesbury based solid carbide cutting tool manufacturer Quickgrind, where he enhances the company’s client support and service network. Mark has more than 30 years of experience, moving from an apprentice toolmaker and CNC machinist to roles at aerospace manufacturers such as BAE Systems and Safran. Mark has trained apprentices with a North West training provider and carried out the role as Team Manager for WorldSkills UK CNC Turning in preparation for Kazan 2019. He is also the ambassador for Quickgrind’s Educational Support Team (QUEST) programme, helping universities, colleges and training facilities benefit from specialised support and advice.

(Technical Masterclasses)

Steven Williams: Training Manager: Industrial Electronics and Compatriot High Performance Skills Coach, WorldSkills UK Curriculum Leader, Gower College

With over 30 years of teaching experience, Steve joined the WorldSkills UK Centre of Excellence on part-time secondment from Gower College where he continues as Curriculum Leader in Electronics Engineering. Working with the Centre’s High-Performance Skills Coaches, Steve drives the Centre of Excellence’s work in Wales. He was named BTEC Tutor of the Year and was recently recognised at the Annual Apprenticeship Conference for his outstanding contribution to the development of apprenticeships. Steve was appointed WorldSkills UK Training Manager for Industrial Electronics in 2017. Under his leadership, the UK reached the world class standard at WorldSkills Kazan in 2019. Steve continues to train and mentor apprentices for WorldSkills Shanghai 2022.

(Technical Masterclasses)

Kamadchisundaram Sureshkumar: Training Manager: Cyber Security, WorldSkills UK Associate Lecturer

A dedicated and passionate Lecturer in STEM subjects with continual commercial practitioner development in artificial intelligence, cyber security, and 5G. Suresh has over 20 years of experience developing industrially relevant training. Key areas of expertise include advanced networking, enterprise database, programming, virtualisation, mathematics and cyber security. Suresh currently holds the role of WorldSkills UK Training Manager and Chief Expert for WorldSkills Shanghai 2022. He is responsible for leading a training network across education and industry applying performance psych strategies, delivering high-quality technical training alongside skill exchanges and international pressure testing.

Keith Cantillon: Academy Technical Engineer, Palo Alto Networks

Keith has taught technical and non-technical courses for the past 20 years. From humble beginnings of teaching basic computer skills to individuals from difficult backgrounds to travelling the world as a teaching consultant and engineer. As a Cyber Security Academy Engineer with Palo alto Networks, he is able to give back to students from a CSR perspective. Keith has been fortunate to have been involved in some great initiatives from guest lectures to running CTFs and Academy related events worldwide like WorldSkills, European Cyber Security Challenge, Women in Tech, International Cybersecurity Summer School.

Sangamesh Shivaputrappa: Cyber Security Expert and Deputy Chief Expert, WorldSkills India Head

Sangamesh’s proficiencies include design & implementation of Enterprise security platform management, Security Operations, Incident response/management, Cyber Threat Intelligence, Counter Intelligence, Digital forensics, Vulnerability Assessment and Penetration Testing.  In his current role, Sangamesh is the Head of Managed Security Services. He analyzes Cyber Threats and conducts Cyber Threat Research. He orchestrates cyber attacks and understands the security controls effectiveness for detection/prevention. He is a frequent speaker in forums like Data Security Council of India (DSCI) and part of Special Interest Groups (SIG) on Cyber Security research. He is part of WorldSkills, representing India as an Expert for Cyber Security track. Under his mentorship, India received the “Medallion for Excellence” in World Skills Kazan 2019.  

(Technical Masterclasses)

Brendan Burns: Assistant Training Manager, IT Network Systems Administration, WorldSkills UK Curriculum and Quality Leader

Brendan has been involved with WorldSkills UK since 2014. Since then, he has led the NSA competition and worked with the Training Manager on the International training cycles. He has taught computing in a Further Education college for the last twenty-two years, focusing on Microsoft Operating Systems, Computer Networking, Technical Support and Software Development. Brendan is Curriculum and Quality leader for Computing and Digital Technologies at NCL. Brendan enjoys learning and sharing the experience with students and competitors. He is fully invested in allowing young people to be the best they can be and providing opportunities for them to be successful.

Shane Carpenter: Network Infrastructure Administrator, Mako Trading

Shane has been involved with WorldSkills for some time after starting off as a competitor 9 years ago. He has competed in WorldSkills Abu Dhabi 2017 and Euro Skills Budapest 2018. Shane enjoyed the competitions and as a result always looks forward to seeing the challenges in each new competition. Shane has found this past year to be interesting, especially for those working in IT, who have been busier than ever. 

Luke Sanders: Sales Engineer, AdTran Europ e Ltd

Luke has been involved with WorldSkills since 2013, when he first competed in the regional competition for Cisco Networking. In 2014 he made it into the national competition and became a member of the UK Squad, finishing his journey in 2017. Luke has continued to support the Training Managers, assisting in developing future competitions and training modules. His particular areas of interest are Datacentre and Service Provider networking. Namely VXLAN and EVPN in the Datacentre and Segment Routing or MPLS in the Service Provider network. Luke has worked for several companies: Cisco Systems, Huawei Technologies, Exertis Enterprise and now AdTran Europe Ltd.

Richard Miller: Developer and Systems Administrator, ESG Tech Serv Ltd

Richard got involved in skills competitions in 2013 attending The Skills Show as a competitor and later in WorldSkills São Paulo 2015. After competing he moved onto working in contract roles for Programming, Electronics and general IT before starting work as a developer and systems admin working with a large UK retail chain to predict & analyse failure of essential systems. Skills gained from WorldSkills training and business experience have given him an understanding of how to build and maintain critical infrastructure essential for any modern company especially with the drastic work from home changes implemented in the last year.

Toby Bell: Competition Organising Partner, WorldSkills UK

(WorldSkills UK Way: the art of teaching, training & assessment)

Greg Houghton: Senior Skills Development Manager, WorldSkills UK

Greg has recently joined WorldSkills UK as Senior Skills Development Manage. Prior to this Greg has held Curriculum Manager positions overseeing Sport, Outdoor Education and Protective Services programmes at the Cornwall College Group and Reaseheath College, where he progressed from Graduate Trainee to Curriculum Manager after joining the college upon completion of his degree in Adventure Education at the University of Chichester. Greg has been part the Performance and Wellbeing team for WorldSkills UK for the last five years, assisting the team in embedding best practice from sporting methodologies to help prepare young people for the demands of competition, and recently as a Team Leader; supporting competitors on the international stage.

Jenna Wrathall MBE: Skills Coach, WorldSkills UK

Under Jenna’s leadership as UK Training Manager and Chief Expert, the UK established its position as a world leader in Beauty Therapy. Her competitors have achieved Gold Medals at the last three international WorldSkills competitions along with Gold, Silver and a Medallion of Excellence at EuroSkills competitions. Whilst studying for a BTEC and HND at Blackpool and The Fylde College, Jenna was selected as the first ever competitor to represent the UK in Beauty Therapy at WorldSkills Montreal 1999 where she achieved second place. Jenna was awarded an MBE in recognition of her services to vocational skills. She is a WorldSkills UK High-Performance Skills Coach on the Centre of Excellence and Lead Judge for the national competition in Beauty Therapy.

Errol Seaman: STEM Centre Development Lead, Barking & Dagenham College

Errol has worked in FE for over 18 years as a lecturer of Science, Sports Science and Uniformed Public Services as well as operating as an Advanced Practitioner. He is currently the STEM Development Manager at Barking and Dagenham College where he specialises in creating experiential exercises and activities to help develop STEM and Employability skills in students of all ages. Errol is also a former Professional Basketball Player, and currently works as a Performance & Wellbeing Coach for WorldSkills UK.

(WorldSkills UK Way: the art of teaching, training & assessment)

Ben Blackledge: Deputy Chief Executive Officer, WorldSkills UK

Ben is responsible for driving WorldSkills UK’s programme of work both in the UK and internationally. In partnership with representatives from government, industry, and education, he leads the UK-wide initiative to embed skills competitions methodology into apprenticeship and training programmes, raising standards and ensuring more young people from all walks of life are being equipped with the right skills to help businesses better compete globally. Ben ensures that the UK remains at the forefront of international skills development in his role of Technical Delegate at WorldSkills Europe and WorldSkills International.

Dr Stephanie Tibbert: Performance Psychologist, WorldSkills UK

Dr. Steph Tibbert is a performance coach, working with athletes, coaches/instructors, dancers, and musicians. Stephanie specialises in a collaborative approach to developing strategies with individuals who find the pressurised competition or audition environment difficult to manage. Recently, Steph has provided psychological support musicians in Shanghai Orchestra Academy and footballers in the Australian League. Steph has written numerous research articles focussing on the development of mental toughness in elite sport, overtraining, self-talk and the antecedents of choking in high-pressure situations. In her WorldSkills UK capacity, Steph has been a team leader for five international competition providing wellbeing support for both physical and mental health.

Libby Clegg MBE: Olympic 5 time Olympic Medalist

Libby is one of Team GB’s most accomplished athletes having competed and won medals for Great Britain in 4 Paralympic games in 2008 in Beijing, 2012 in London, 2016 in Rio and in the delayed 2020 Tokyo games. During her career Libby has won 5 Olympic medals including being double Olympic Champion in the T11 100m & 200m in Rio as well as 20 other international medals, titles, and achieving world record times. She has a deteriorating eye condition known as Stargardt’s Macular Dystrophy giving her only partial peripheral vision and is registered blind. Outside of athletics Libby was a recent star as the first blind person on the TV show Dancing on Ice in 2019 making it to the final and finishing 3rd. Libby was awarded an MBE in the 2017 New Years honours list for services to athletics and charity. 

Jo Maher: Principal and CEO, Loughborough College

Jo Maher is Principal and Chief Executive at Loughborough College, an FA Council member, and Trustee of the Skills Education Group. Jo spent 7 years supporting WorldSkills Team UK as Performance Team Leader at 4 international competitions. Jo is a qualified teacher, assessor, Chartered Scientist and internationally published academic.

Elizabeth Newcombe: Team UK member, WorldSkills UK

Encouraged by her tutor at College, Elizabeth became involved as a competitor in WorldSkills UK in 2017 and received intensive training from experts in the floral industry in preparation for international competitions. She was awarded two Medallions of Excellence as a competitor with WorldSkills UK, together with the title RHS Young Chelsea Florist of the Year 2019. Inspired by the performance training she received during her time at WorldSkills UK, Elizabeth now studies performance psychology at the University of Winchester alongside running her Florist shop and hopes to inspire and encourage the development of future competitors.  

Rachael Carr: Network Systems Integration Engineer, BAE Systems

Rachael is a Vehicle Systems Integration Engineer at BAE Systems, currently working as part of Team Tempest. Rachael began her career as an Engineering Apprentice working in Preston after leaving college at 18 with a BTEC National Diploma in Electrical/Electronic Engineering. Towards the end of her apprenticeship she completed in the 2011 WorldSkills Competition in London. Since completing her apprenticeship she continued with further education and finished with a Degree in Mechatronics, had several job roles within BAE Systems across differing engineering disciplines and now works with Team Tempest. Rachael has won several awards throughout her career so far, the most recent being “Top 50 Women in Engineering: Current and Former Apprentices (WE50) in 2019. 

Dr Catherine Manning: National Head of Mentoring and practitioner research, The Education and Training Foundation

Catherine spent over 10 years working in a range of Further Education settings, including prisons, adult community learning and FE colleges. She undertook a variety of roles including teacher, learning support assistant, course leader, teaching and learning coach/mentor and teacher educator. Prior to joining ETF, Catherine undertook a full-time PhD in Education. Her research focussed on mentoring for teachers in the FE sector. She joined ETF as Operations Manager for Advanced Teacher Status before becoming National Head of Practitioner Research and Development.

(Equity, Diversity and Inclusion)

Jeff Greenidge: Director for Diversity, The Education and Training Foundation and Association of Colleges

Jeff’s career began teaching in the South Wales Valleys, then as a civil servant developing the National Curriculum for Languages, before working in the private sector on European Vocational Education projects. In 1999, Jeff joined Ufi to help set up the learndirect network and was Director for Wales, then for Northern Ireland, and finally UK Operations Director and retiring in 2015. He has since provided support to Governments, and Education and Training Businesses in the UK and internationally. Since 2019 Jeff has been working with the ETF and AOC to shape the diversity in leadership coaching and development programme. Jeff remains a strong advocate for Equity and Inclusion within education and training and maintains a keen interest in supporting adults in learning.  As such he on the Board of the Learning and Work Institute, The Colleges of Wales and the Institute of Employment Professionals and Chairs Groundwork Wales. 

Eddie Playfair: Senior Policy Manager, Association of Colleges

Charlene Spreadborough: Nurse, NHS

(Education 4.0)

Charlotte Bonner: National Head of Education for Sustainable Development, The Education and Training Foundation

Charlotte is National Head of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) at the Education and Training Foundation where she is responsible for strategic development and implementation of their ESD work as well as being the policy and advocacy expert in sustainability matters. She was a keystone of NUS’ sustainability work, project managing the UNESCO ESD prize winning Green Impact programme. She is a co-founder of Students Organizing for Sustainability International and led on their partnership with the United Nations Environment Programme. Charlotte has an MSc in energy and environmental technologies, is a member of both the Institution of Environmental Managers and Assessors and the Society of Education and Training, a part of the Institute of Apprenticeships and Technical Education’s Green Apprenticeship Advisory Community and sits on the COP26 Education and Skills Committee.

Andrew Bargery: Talent Engagement Senior Manager, PwC

Andrew joined PwC in 2003 and currently leads the work that the Student Recruitment team does with Universities and Schools in order to attract the most talented and diverse students across the firm’s school and college, undergraduate and graduate programmes. This includes overseeing the strategy for the events they run and the transformation from running in person events to engaging with students virtually. He also leads on a number of external relationships that PwC has with partners such as upReach and Teach First. 

(Education 4.0)

Charlotte Bonner: National Head of Education for Sustainable Development, The Education and Training Foundation

Charlotte is National Head of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) at the Education and Training Foundation where she is responsible for strategic development and implementation of their ESD work as well as being the policy and advocacy expert in sustainability matters. She was a keystone of NUS’ sustainability work, project managing the UNESCO ESD prize winning Green Impact programme. She is a co-founder of Students Organizing for Sustainability International and led on their partnership with the United Nations Environment Programme. Charlotte has an MSc in energy and environmental technologies, is a member of both the Institution of Environmental Managers and Assessors and the Society of Education and Training, a part of the Institute of Apprenticeships and Technical Education’s Green Apprenticeship Advisory Community and sits on the COP26 Education and Skills Committee.

Sarah Condren: Staff Development Manager, Burnley College

Sarah Condren is the Staff Development Manager at Burnley College. Passionate about sustainability and teaching and learning, Sarah works with staff to develop their ESD practice to ensure staff and learners can make a lasting impact. The College is committed to their own green journey and works hard to embed sustainable practices in 4 key areas of the college: campus, curriculum, community, and the culture. 

Leslie McCormack: Managing Director, Michael John Academy

Lesley McCormack founder & Managing Director of multi award-winning Michaeljohn Training School Manchester. Lesley’s responsibilities include strategic leadership and management, with specialist responsibilities for excellence in teaching and training, curriculum planning, and responsibilities for equality, safeguarding, PREVENT, sustainability and learners health and welfare. For 40 years she has ensured that MJTS embraces the ethos of welcoming people from all and walks of life & backgrounds and inspiring learners to achieve their aspirations; leading to high success rates and sustained job outcomes. Lesley’s memberships include Sector Chair AELP, T-Level Panel & Ambassador, Judge at BAME Awards, Education Trailblazer Group and Safeguarding Trailblazer Group, GMP PREVENT Forum, ETF Stakeholder Group, consultant for Awarding Organisations developing COVID-19 Exam, EPA Exam and underdevelopment, Environmental and Sustainability Awards. Lesley is passionate that Environmental and Sustainability is embedded into curriculum and enrichments. MJTS will be published on achievements in 2021. 

Rachel O’Dowd: Quality Improvement and Workforce Development Manager, Manchester Adult Education Service

Rachel is the Quality Improvement and Workforce Development Manager for Manchester Adult Education Service. Rachel leads on quality improvement and workforce development for Manchester Adult Education Service. 

Nuala Trace: Community Learning Curriculum Manager, Manchester Adult Education Service

Nuala is the Community Learning Curriculum Manager for Manchester Adult Education Service.  Nuala is responsible for the delivery of community learning programmes, including the Talk English programme.  

(Education 4.0)

Simon Farr: Director of Innovation, Jisc

As head of the Jisc customer innovation team, Simon works with the world’s leading companies exploring new and innovative ways of using technology. He provides an important link between Jiscs members, group CTO and Product teams. Simon manages innovation projects with Jiscs members and industry partners and is also responsible for contributing to the Jisc thought leadership agenda, focused on key market and industry trends as well as competitive positioning. Prior to joining Jisc, Simon was Innovation Director at BT Global Services and held tenure at C&W and was involved in the initial stages of mobile communications at Mercury Communications.

(Education 4.0)

Neil Harrod-Beck: Assistive Technology Projects Lead, TechAbility

Neil is an experienced Assistive Technologist working to help people with disabilities through technology. He has experience at a local, national and international level to support both in specialist and mainstream environments. Through TechAbility he supports Natspec Specialist Colleges and Karten Centres to improve provision through visits, assessments, resources and webinars. Neil has sat on the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Assistive Technology and the subsequent DfE expert group has enabled him to contribute to policy – notably the 2019 EdTech Policy.

Fil McIntyre: Manager and Assistive Technology Lead, TechAbility

Fil is an experienced Assistive Technologist working to help people with disabilities through technology. He has experience at a local, national and international level to support both in specialist and mainstream environments. Through TechAbility he supports Natspec Specialist Colleges and Karten Centres to improve provision through visits, assessments, resources and webinars. Fil has sat on the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Assistive Technology and the subsequent DfE expert group has enabled him to contribute to policy – notably the 2019 EdTech Policy.