For Stanley Mackintosh, the months leading up to WorldSkills Shanghai 2026 have been a race against the clock. Alongside his Team UK training, the Cabinet Maker with Bill Cleyndert & Company has been working to complete his Level 3 apprenticeship, freeing him to spend the summer focused entirely on preparing for the world’s biggest skills competition. Recently, Stanley received his exam results and officially qualified with a distinction, marking another important milestone in his apprenticeship journey.
Originally from Rushmere, Suffolk, Stanley has always been drawn to creative, hands-on work. His passion for woodworking started at the age of 15, when his interest in music inspired him to build his own guitar. That spark quickly grew into a desire to truly understand the art of woodwork. After studying design at sixth form and falling deeper in love with the craft, Stanley decided to pursue cabinet making full time.
Originally from Rushmere, Suffolk, Stanley has always been drawn to creative, hands-on work. His passion for woodworking started at the age of 15, when his interest in music inspired him to build his own guitar. That spark quickly grew into a desire to truly understand the art of woodwork. After studying design at sixth form and falling deeper in love with the craft, Stanley decided to pursue cabinet making full time.
Stanley is the first apprentice at Bill Cleyndert & Company to have made it through to Team UK and the company have been supporting Stanley every step of the way:
“Everyone at Bill Cleyndert & Company has been great, allowing me to take time off to train and attend bootcamps. They really see the value in what this experience brings to me and to the business.”
Stanley’s WorldSkills UK training has transformed the way he approaches his work at Bill Cleyndert & Company. The competition has challenged him to refine every aspect of his craftsmanship, from achieving exceptional levels of precision to finding more efficient ways of working without compromising quality. He has brought these world-class techniques, learnt through his competition training, back into the workshop, helping to improve processes, raise standards and demonstrate how investing in skills excellence can deliver tangible benefits for both employees and employers.
“When I was given my first project to lead at work, I treated it like a WorldSkills competition brief. I applied the same planning, organisation and time management techniques I’d learnt through training, and by working more efficiently I was able to cut around 100 hours from the project’s completion time” explains Stanley.
Now selected to represent Team UK at WorldSkills Shanghai 2026, the achievement marks a significant milestone early in Stanley’s career. Having only recently entered the trade, earning a place on Team UK has given him the confidence and motivation to keep developing his skills. The opportunity has reinforced his ambition to push himself even further. Stanley hopes to develop not just as a cabinet maker but also as a designer, creating more of his own pieces and working with a wider range of materials. He’s also keen to gain experience across different departments at work to broaden his skills even further.
For other young people considering WorldSkills UK competitions, Stanley’s message is clear: “Definitely go for it. I’ve been encouraging the younger apprentices at my company to get involved. No matter how far you go in the process, you learn so much and that experience stays with you.”
