Jack Mellor – Collis - World Skills GB Finals

Now that Jack is back from the finals we thought it would be great to understand a little bit about what he experienced and what he gained from the competition.

The train depicted above was fabricated by Jack over a period of four days, using sheet steel as the primary material. The entire process was carried out without the use of grinders or abrasive wheels, relying solely on thermal cutting techniques and wire brushing for finishing and surface preparation. Ensuring his surface finish was to a good standard without being able to amend with abrasive pads. What did you enjoy most about the event?

Staying at the same hotel as all the other competitors was brilliant, we had time to socialise, get to know each other and build friendships while we chilled out after the hard work of the day

Meeting employers, World Skills staff as well as the trainers from the other colleges was amazing, they were all so positive and supportive of the competition and the competitors

It was challenging using different equipment with the clock running all the time but it was very rewarding to do precision work and keep it on time

Testing myself as I had no preparation time, until I got there and started I had no idea what I would be fabricating or what equipment I would be using

What did you learn?

Time pressure was a key element, if we did not finish at the allotted time, we had to submit the element we had been working on whether it was complete or not.

Communication skills dealing with different levels of people I didn’t know, it was quite a challenge but they were all great and I quickly got to grips with it

The project was the opposite of what I do at my work, Collis Engineering works on big projects / structural steel so more like 40mm than 4mm. Working to tight tolerance is something I am good at but this was a new level of detail

Did you make new connections?

Yes – I spent time with the other competitors and their trainers in the evenings and made some great new contacts for the future.

What did you find the hardest part?

Using totally different machinery than I am used to was something I thought I was prepared for, until I got there. The first day or day and a half took a lot of my focus to use the equipment in the right way while keeping the quality at the maximum

Long hours of highly detailed work which was tiring but then I imagine that is part of the competition.

Would you do it again?

Yes, definitely if I can get my application through in time for the 2025 round.

Do you think it has helped you in your career?

Yes, it will help me with what I learned at the competition, just getting to the final made me realise what I am capable of. To say there are nearly 2,400 apprentices on the Metal Fabricator apprenticeship I am really proud that I got down to the last 7 competitors.

Jack was keen to mention that he had amazing support from his employer, Collis Engineering could not have done more to help me with this.

Jack was competing against people from all over the UK from large multi national organisations and from national college groups, it was a bit of a change from Qualitrain Engineering Academy and Collis Engineering.

Jamie Reid our trainer has now supported two

apprentices into World Skills over the last 2 years, in 2023 our candidate Patrick Bates from Goodmans Metalworks made it to the Semi Final and then this year Jack Mellor from Collis made it all the way to the finals. Not bad for a company that only started training engineers 3 years ago.

QEA is immensely proud of the achievements our apprentices have made; they have worked extremely hard to get there and were a credit to themselves and their employers.