Simonas Brasas, a 22-year-old undergraduate student at Kingston University, says one of the most frequent questions he is asked as a member of Team UK, is what is ‘Industry 4.0 and how do you compete in it?’
“That’s why participating in WorldSkills is so important. It creates interest and awareness in emerging skills that are crucial for industry and the economy, but you find that many people haven’t heard of them or don’t understand them” explains Simonas.
One of the newest skills to be introduced to WorldSkills, Industry 4.0 skill merges together some of the latest technologies from Industrial Automation field. Interactive dashboard development, cybersecurity, smart sensors and preventive maintenance are just a few of them. Simonas and Mikhaela’s task as a team in Lyon will be to combine these technologies together to form an intelligent, cyber-physical system ready for production of highly flexible goods.
Moving to England from Lithuania as teenager, Simonas had a passion for archaeology and history but having to learn English as a second language, he narrowly missed out on the opportunity to study A Levels. He secured a place at Barking & Dagenham College where he completed a BTEC Level 3 in Engineering. Simonas says “My BTEC was a great introduction to engineering. It gave me practical experience in different areas and really ignited my passion for the subject.”
Simonas is now in his second year at Kingston University studying a BEng (Hons) Aerospace Engineering (with Space Technology) which he combines with his training for Team UK at Middlesex University and being President of KURE, Kingston University Rocket Engineering society.
“My first introduction to competitions was at Barking & Dagenham college where I was asked to take part in the WorldSkills UK Competitions. I got a real buzz from testing my skills and meeting people from my subject area and have carried on competing while at university, in different competitions.”
Simonas added: “I would certainly recommend taking part in WorldSkills UK Competitions to other young people, it looks fantastic on your CV.”
Simonas is looking forward to competing at WorldSkills Lyon and is excited to see the full competition in action, after a much smaller event took place in 2022 due to Covid.
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