When Stuart first stepped into Mr Ng’s Graphic Communications class at Carluke High School, he had no idea that a spark lit that day would launch him into a career that would see him represent Scotland and the UK in engineering.
“I owe a huge amount to Mr Ng. When I was selected by WorldSkills UK to join the Squad to train for WorldSkills Shanghai 2026, he was one of the first people I messaged. I wasn’t sure he would remember me, but he did, and he couldn’t have been prouder”, explains Stuart.
As part of Stuart’s training with WorldSkills UK, he has been selected to represent the UK in Mechanical Engineering – Computer Aided Design (CAD)at EuroSkills Herning 2025, Europe’s largest skills competition. He is combining his training with studying full-time for a HND in Computer-Aided Design and Draughting at New College Lanarkshire. It is a huge commitment, and Stuart spends most of his weekends and after college training for EuroSkills and WorldSkills, but he knows it will be worth it. Ryan Sheridan, an Academic Leader at New College Lanarkshire and a former bronze medallist at WorldSkills London 2011, is training Stuart.
“I have learnt so much from Ryan, who is an expert in his field. The training for EuroSkills is allowing me to study my subject more in depth. It really is a life-changing opportunity for me, and I know it will fast track my career” says Stuart.
Stuart’s first experience of competing was participating in the WorldSkills UK National Competitions in 2024, where he was then invited to join the WorldSkills Shanghai 2026 training programme run by WorldSkills UK. Stuart explains he was determined to secure a place in New College Lanarkshire’s competition squad after his lecturer showed the class the Opening Ceremony from WorldSkills Kazan, which was attended by over 50,000 people. He recalls the scale of the event was awe-inspiring and gave him the motivation to try the competitions.
“I found I really enjoy competing and testing my skills, but I didn’t realise just how much confidence I would gain from taking part in skills competitions” explains Stuart.
While Stuart is totally focused on the upcoming EuroSkills Competition in September, he still has one eye on the selection process for WorldSkills Shanghai, which takes place next year.
“It would be brilliant to say I’ve competed on both the European and World stage!”
Follow Stuart‘s journey @WorldSkills UK
Pearson is the official partner of Team UK for EuroSkills Herning 2025 and WorldSkills Shanghai 2026.
Find out how the WorldSkills UK Learning Lab can support apprentices and learners.
