Young technician from Langley Mill brings home bronze in world skills Olympics

Liam Whitby, along with his teammate Kamil Zmich, took on two-person teams from Austria, Germany, Hungary, India, Japan, Poland and Switzerland in the WorldSkills Industry 4.0 final last week.

The pair, both aged 24, were awarded their medals at the end of the competition in Stuttgart.

Industry 4.0 is a new competition which made its debut at the multi-country international skills competition organised by WorldSkills. It takes its name from the fourth industrial revolution covering the changes happening in technology as we seek to digitise the modern world.

Liam Whitby said: “I am a still a bit in shock to be honest. It’s such an amazing feeling. Winning a medal is the result of a lot of hard work though, missing out on things and remaining focused and determined.”

Teammate Kamil Zmich added: “Winning a medal is a huge achievement and I’m over the moon that all the hard work has finally paid off. The whole experience of being involved with WorldSkills - medals aside – has been brilliant and will be a massive boost to my career. I’d like to thank everyone who helped along the way and WorldSkills UK for the amazing opportunity.”

The finals usually take place one city as part of a ten-day carnival of competition. However, owing to the pandemic, this year’s event scheduled in Shanghai was cancelled.

In its place are 61 finals featuring over 1,000 competitors in 15 countries throughout October and November. The Industry 4.0 final in Stuttgart was the first competition featuring Team UK members.

WorldSkills UK Deputy CEO Ben Blackledge said: “We are so proud of Liam and Kamil for kicking things off for Team UK with a medal in the first ever Industry 4.0 WorldSkills competition. The skills being tested here like mechanics, pneumatics and cyber technology are vital if we are to grow a high-skills high-wage economy and it is just brilliant to see us leading the way like this.

“As part of Team UK, Liam and Kamil are brilliant role models for other young people and their success shows how an apprenticeship or vocational training can lead to great career success."