16 October 2026
Northern Ireland students win gold at WorldSkills Shanghai
Further education students from Northern Ireland have returned from WorldSkills 2026 in Shanghai with a gold medal, a bronze medal and five medals for excellence, the Department for the Economy announced on 2 October. Competing as part of Team UK, they went up against around 1,400 young people from more than 70 nations at the competition often called the Skills Olympics.
Ruth Douglas from Banbridge was crowned world champion in Chemical Laboratory Technology. She works at Almac and studies at Southern Regional College. Oisin McKerr from Lurgan took bronze in Car Painting; he works for Porters Body Shop and also attends Southern Regional College.
Medals for excellence, which recognise world-class standards, went to Andrew McCann in Plumbing and Heating (South West College), Joe Wilton in Autobody Repair (Riverpark Training), Jonathan Gough in Electrical Installation (Southern Regional College), and Caolan McCartan and Patrick Sheerin in Industry 4.0 (Southern Regional College). Economy Minister Dr Caoimhe Archibald said the results spoke to the quality of Northern Ireland's further education colleges, training providers and employers. She had met some of the competitors at Parliament Buildings before they travelled.
For careers practitioners, the medallists offer a ready set of real examples of learning while earning. Most combined college study with a job at a named local employer, and one is already self-employed. Five of the seven medallists came through Southern Regional College, a reminder that local provision can compete with the best anywhere. Ruth Douglas's gold in a laboratory science discipline is also a useful counterpoint to two assumptions young people and parents often bring to guidance: that science careers begin only with A levels and a degree, and that technical routes are for young men. Stories like these help present further education and work-based training as a first choice that can lead to world-class standards, not a fallback.
Read the full Department for the Economy announcement on WorldSkills success.
Ruth Douglas from Banbridge was crowned world champion in Chemical Laboratory Technology. She works at Almac and studies at Southern Regional College. Oisin McKerr from Lurgan took bronze in Car Painting; he works for Porters Body Shop and also attends Southern Regional College.
Medals for excellence, which recognise world-class standards, went to Andrew McCann in Plumbing and Heating (South West College), Joe Wilton in Autobody Repair (Riverpark Training), Jonathan Gough in Electrical Installation (Southern Regional College), and Caolan McCartan and Patrick Sheerin in Industry 4.0 (Southern Regional College). Economy Minister Dr Caoimhe Archibald said the results spoke to the quality of Northern Ireland's further education colleges, training providers and employers. She had met some of the competitors at Parliament Buildings before they travelled.
For careers practitioners, the medallists offer a ready set of real examples of learning while earning. Most combined college study with a job at a named local employer, and one is already self-employed. Five of the seven medallists came through Southern Regional College, a reminder that local provision can compete with the best anywhere. Ruth Douglas's gold in a laboratory science discipline is also a useful counterpoint to two assumptions young people and parents often bring to guidance: that science careers begin only with A levels and a degree, and that technical routes are for young men. Stories like these help present further education and work-based training as a first choice that can lead to world-class standards, not a fallback.
Read the full Department for the Economy announcement on WorldSkills success.
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