Seven national titles for TUD students at Ireland Skills Live
By William O'Connor
THERE was great success for TU Dublin at the inaugural Ireland Skills Live three-day event in the RDS.
Among the medal winners were TU Dublin Tallaght students, Oliver Bal-Petre for Cloud Computing and Mairtin Scattergood for Sheetmetal. TU Dublin student Ben McNair from Ballyfermot won an award for Car Painting.
Oliver Bal-Petre, TUD Tallaght , with Vivienne Patterson of the HEA
TU Dublin came away with no fewer than seven medals; in Visual Merchandising, Car Painting, Logistics, Aircraft Maintenance, Bricklaying, Painting and Decorating and Welding.
Jenny Mangan and Megan Yeates from TU Dublin upped the success rate for young women with their two wins in Visual Merchandising and Logistics.
Many will now go on to represent Ireland at the World Skills finals in Kazan Russia next August.
Organisers declared the inuagural three day Ireland Skills Live event an unqualified success.
“This week we had over 15,000 second level students visit Ireland Skills Live, something we only hoped for back in October on launch day”, said Donal Keys, Co-Chair of World Skills Ireland.
“We have over 100 sponsors here, private industry working alongside public educational bodies, government departments and semi-state organisations. This is how Ireland can work when we all come together; look what we can achieve.”
Ray English, also Co-Chair of World Skills Ireland went on to say: “We look forward to us all coming back next year, for a bigger and better event, if that is even possible.”
President Michael D Higgins also visited Ireland Skills Live and met Jenny Mangan at her Wild Atlantic Way installation before she knew that she was herself a medal winner.
“The Ireland Skills Live event is a very important exhibition”, said President Higgins. “It concentrates on most valuable skills, that some of the very best people who are thinking about how one can express one’s creativity in the most useful possible way, can use in any part of the world.
“And at the exhibition I met some of the most dedicated teachers and all of the institutes here are doing far-seeing, future-oriented work and, I don’t mind saying, I would love to see all parents bring their young people here.
“I believe that this exhibition will in time be as important as the Young Scientist Exhibition.”
