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WorldSkills UK Fever Builds as SRC Students Prepare to Compete on the National Stage

Posted By:
Southern Regional College

11th Nov 2025

Excitement is mounting as the WorldSkills UK National Finals draw near.  Taking place from 25-28th November, venues across South Wales will host the WorldSkills UK national finals.  Among the elite competitors are eight students from Southern Regional College (SRC), who have earned their places in the national finals. They will represent the College in the categories of Automotive Refinishing, Automotive Body Repair, Culinary Arts, and the engineering disciplines of Automation and Mechatronics.

The WorldSkills UK competition embeds excellence in over 40 skill areas and supports learners and apprentices to develop world-class technical skills.  This year Automotive Refinishing and Body Repair comprises of the top six students from across the UK, while Culinary Arts takes in the top eight UK competitors.  Both Automation and Mechatronics comprises of the top six team pairings.

To be in with the chance of qualifying for the national finals, students had to compete at regional qualifiers earlier this year, before the national finalists were announced in July following a UK wide benchmarking and quality assurance exercise.

Since the July finalist announcement, students have been undertaking training to fine tune skills in advance of November’s national finals.  Students who perform exceptionally at this national competition may be selected to train with Team UK and be eligible to compete at the biennial international 2026 global WorldSkills competition in Shanghai and the 2027 European EuroSkills competition in Düsseldorf.

Southern Regional College students competing at the 2025 WorldSkills UK national finals include:

Name Hometown Course Campus Competition Category
Matthew Conn Waringstown Engineering (Mechatronics) Level 5 Foundation Degree, Higher Level Apprenticeship Portadown Automation
Phillip Fee Dromore Engineering (Mechatronics) Level 5 Foundation Degree, Higher Level Apprenticeship Portadown Automation
Joseph Cullen Portadown Vehicle Accident Repair Body Principles Level 3 Diploma Apprenticeship Portadown Automotive Body Repair
Jack Harvison Dungannon Vehicle Accident Repair Paint Principles Level 3 Diploma Apprenticeship Portadown Automotive Refinishing
Andrew McVarnock Newry Professional Cookery Level 3 Diploma Apprenticeship Newry Culinary Arts
Leon Ruddy Bleary Professional Chef Level 2 Traineeship Newry Culinary Arts
Carter McKnight Moira Engineering (Mechatronics) Level 5 Foundation Degree, Higher Level Apprenticeship Newry Mechatronics
Ross Graham Banbridge Engineering (Technical Design & Manufacture) Level 5 Foundation Degree, Higher Level Apprenticeship Newry Mechatronics

Mrs Lee Campbell, Principal & Chief Executive of Southern Regional College commented:

“As the national WorldSkills UK competition approaches, I want to congratulate our students competing for reaching the upcoming national final. These students have demonstrated remarkable talent in the relentless pursuit of excellence. I wish them every success in this prestigious competition and I am confident that they will not only make our College proud, but inspire others with their achievements”.

 

Picture Caption: Caption: SRC students representing Northern Ireland at this year’s WorldSkills UK finals.

Pictured (L-R) Back Row: Lindsay Bronte (SRC Organisational Development Manager), Andrew McVarnock, Keith Campbell (lecturer), Leon Ruddy, David Fairley (lecturer)

Front Row: Ross Graham, Jack Harvison, Lee Campbell (SRC Principal & CEO), Joe Cullen, Phillip Fee

Not pictured: Matthew Conn, Carter McKnight