WorldSkills Competitions, WorldSkills UK, WorldSkills London 2011 - these all support excellence in skills, they share similar names and there are links between them all - but there are some big differences:

WorldSkills UK

This network of regional and national skills competitions that run across the UK are the training ground of champions. From creative arts to the built environment, from IT to engineering, these competitions promote the best in our nations’ skills - www.worldskillsuk.org

UK Skills oversees the WorldSkills UK network of competitions and undertakes quality assurance. Those competitions that meet our quality standards are entitled to use the WorldSkills UK name and brand.

We use the WorldSkills UK competitions to help identify potential competitors for the international competitions. There are around 70 WorldSkills UK competitions but only 40 at WorldSkills and 30 at EuroSkills. Not every WorldSkills UK competition winner will have the chance to be considered for international competitions.

WorldSkills UK competitions are a key part of our strategy for WorldSkills London 2011. For instance, we are using the competitions to identify potential competitors. We are also developing and strengthening the WorldSkills UK competition network as part of the legacy we want WorldSkills London 2011 to leave to the nation.

WorldSkills Competitions

These are international skills competitions held every two years by a host nation which is a member of WorldSkills International. Each Competition’s host is voted on by all WorldSkills members at the biennial WorldSkills General Assembly. We select and train the UK squad from which Team UK is selected for the WorldSkills Competition - www.worldskills.org

WorldSkills International is not-for-profit membership association open to agencies or bodies which have a responsibility for promoting vocational education and training in their respective countries/regions. UK Skills is the UK’s member of WorldSkills International.

The UK has been involved in WorldSkills since the first Competition in 1953.

WorldSkills London 2011 will be the 41st WorldSkills Competition. The UK has previously hosted the competition in 1965 (Glasgow) and 1989 (Birmingham).

WorldSkills London 2011

WorldSkills London 2011 is a WorldSkills Competition and will be held at ExCel in London in October 2011. The UK was voted host nation for the 2011 Competition at the WorldSkills General Assembly meeting held in Melbourne in May 2006. The project office running this event is part of UK Skills - www.worldskillslondon2011.com

The Governments of England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales support WorldSkills London 2011.

The WorldSkills London 2011 project office is currently part of the UK Skills and based at UK Skills’ premises at 5 Portland Place, London W1. From mid-2008 a wholly-owned subsidiary of UK Skills, WorldSkills London 2011 Ltd, has been set up with the task of running the event.

For London 2011 event, UK Skills will be involved in:

• Selecting and training competitors for the event;
• Developing the Competition’s legacy for skills in the UK.