In less than three weeks’ time, four young Scots will join a team of 22 apprentices and college students and head to what for most will be the biggest stage so far in their young careers - the EuroSkills competititon in Budapest, where hundreds of young people will be competing in dozens of skills from plumbing to mechatronics. 

Behind them lie regional and national competitions where they fought off hundreds of competitors from around the UK, as well as countless hours of honing their skills to make sure they can stand their ground against their peers from Germany, Austria and the rest of Europe. For now, they will spend as much time as possible perfecting their skills and getting ready to compete .

Callum Bonner, 20, from Alloa in central Scotland (pictured left in main picture), will be competing in painting and decorating. With only a few weeks until the competition, he is freeing up as much time as he possibly can to train. He has even put up plasterboard at his home so he can practise after work. “When I am not at the college, I am doing a couple of hours every second or third night after work,” he says.

Bonner’s journey started two years ago with regional competitions, when he was a student at Forth Valley College. At last year’s national final, he placed fourth, but made the Budapest squad because the people who scored better were above the age limit for EuroSkills competitors. Since February, his training schedule has intensified, and he is spending blocks of time at Dundee and Angus College with his training manager every month, on top of the training he is doing at home. Bonner has also taken part in a training weekend with the rest of Team UK, focusing on the mental preparation required for competition.

Support from employers

The support of his employer, Clackmannanshire Council, has been crucial, he says. “Everyone has been so helpful, it has been beyond belief. My employer especially has been brilliant.”

Audrey Munro, vocational training officer at the council, says the local authority is pleased to support Bonner in his quest to win a gold medal. “We recognise that this occasion not only helps to showcase the opportunities available for anyone who enters an apprenticeship programme, but also helps to inspire other young people to follow in Callum’s footsteps into an apprenticeship. Balancing the time spent undertaking training with time in the workplace is always challenging for any employer, but we believe that this investment in training helps Clackmannanshire Council deliver its services to a highest possible standard,” she explains.

The scale of the competition and the preparation involved have impressed Bonner: “This is all on such a massive scale, it blew me away. When I tell my friends, a lot of them don’t believe it at first, but when I explain to them they are blown away with how big it really is. Everyone is really proud.”

Getting ready for EuroSkills

As a training exercise, he is completing the tasks of past EuroSkills and WorldSkills competitions to give him a better idea of what it will be like on the day. At Dundee and Angus College, he is also training in a busy reception area so he can get used to spectators and noise around him. “You just zone out. I just put my headphones on.”

Bonner knows where his strengths and weaknesses lie. “I am doing pretty well with the wallpapering, but I need to make sure my design is sharp. They are the things I have been doing the most.”

While Bonner will only find out in Budapest what exactly his competition tasks will entail, Nicolle Finnie (see main picture), who will be competing in cookery, has already been given her brief.

Confidence in skills

The 21-year-old from Glasgow, who got involved in skills competitions three years ago during her HND in professional cookery at City of Glasgow College, says she feels “quite good” about the tasks she has been given. “They are difficult but with the amount of training I have been doing, I feel quite confident. It is now about what makes you stand out on the day. My biggest competitor is me - all I can do is try and keep improving.”

In Budapest, she will compete in three tasks a day, so for about four and a half hours each day for three days. And although she knows what the tasks will be, there is a “surprise element”, such as swapping a main ingredient.

Finnie is taking two days a week out of work to train at City of Glasgow College.

Senior chef lecturer Gary Maclean, who has worked with her for three years, says it is now about fine-tuning and gaining confidence. “It is about having a bit of belief in yourself. She has done really well at UK-level, but this is the first time on the big stage. But she has taken everything in her stride. What you are looking for now is picking up marginal points. Everyone competing in Budapest is going to be a really good cook, and so it is about the really small things.”

Maclean has been impressed with Finnie’s commitment. “She has put her life on hold for this and she has given it everything,” he says.

And, indeed, Finnie already has her next goal in sight. Once she returns from EuroSkills, her ambition is to make the team for WorldSkills in Kazan in 2019. But, for now, both Bonner and Finnie agree that their goal is clear: returning from Budapest with a gold medal.