Irish Apprentice Plasterer scoops Gold at the WorldSkills, London
17 Oct. 2011
Irish apprentice plasterer Gary Condon from Waterford scooped a big win for Ireland at the WorldSkills Competition which took place in London at the start of October. Gary was part of an Irish team of apprentices from around the country competing for the world title in their chosen craft.
Gyproc, the biggest supplier of plaster and plasterboard to the Irish construction industry and part of Saint-Gobain, the world leader in construction sponsored Gary as he competed to scoop the title of World Champion Plasterer. The WorldSkills Competition was established with the aim of challenging apprentices to achieve world class standards and competencies in commerce, services and industry and took place at the ExCel in London from 5-8 October 2011. 150,000 visitors saw 1,000 competitors from more than 50 countries or regions competing in 46 skill areas over the four days.
“Gyproc were delighted to be involved in such an important event and to lend our support to Gary who has already won the Irish title in both 2010 and 2011. WorldSkills is an opportunity to showcase the high level of skill within Ireland and the Irish Team has previously ranked among the top groups in these competitions offering the perfect opportunity to enhance the image of Ireland abroad”, commented Brian Dolan, Managing Director of Gyproc.
The selection and co-ordination of the Irish Skills Team is the responsibility of the Irish WorldSkills Council. The members of this group are selected from the Department of Education & Science, Dublin Institute of Technology, Fáilte Ireland, FÁS – the Irish Training and Employment Authority, the Irish Vocational Education Association (IVEA) and the Institutes of Technology. Ireland plays a central role in the WorldSkills Competitions and has hosted them on two occasions – 1963 and 1979 and in 2007 at the World Skills in Japan, the Irish entry for Plaster won the Gold medal also.
