A young architectural technologist expert from Ribble Valley will represent the UK in European Finals in Poland.

Isabelle Barron, 22, an Architectural Technologist from Clitheroe, has been selected to represent the UK at the EuroSkills Finals in Gdańsk, Poland. 

Taking place from September 6 to 9, EuroSkills is the largest skills competition in Europe attracting more than 100,000 visitors. 

Isabelle, a member of Team UK for EuroSkills Gdańsk 2023, said: “I am incredibly proud to have the honour of being the first UK competitor to take part in the Digital Construction competition at EuroSkills.

"I hope that I can use my experience as part of Team UK to dispel some of the myths about working in construction and show young people the different opportunities that exist.”      

Team UK comprises of 20 elite apprentices and students skilled in a broad spectrum of disciplines from engineering to construction, digital to creative. 

Governments and industry will be watching with interest to benchmark how well Team UK performs compared to the country’s main European competitors. 

At the event, 600 skilled young professionals under the age of 25 from 32 member countries including Germany, Switzerland and France will compete. 

Ben Blackledge, Chief Executive of WorldSkills UK which selects and trains Team UK to the highest international standard, said: “This will be a life-enhancing opportunity for Isabelle, and I wish her the best of luck. 

"She and the rest of Team UK are the embodiment not only of the characteristics that we should aspire for in a young workforce, but for the UK Government’s ambitions for Global Britain too. 

“The EuroSkills Finals provides a valuable mechanism for benchmarking the quality of skills.

"Through its competition-based assessment of young people’s skills against European industry standards, we can compare UK standards against those in the rest of Europe and importantly bring that international best practice back to the UK through the programmes we run at WorldSkills UK.”

To secure a place in Team UK, the apprentices and students have been through an exhaustive selection process, taking part in the prestigious WorldSkills UK National Competitions. 

Following the European Finals, they will continue their training with WorldSkills UK with the aim of being selected for the WorldSkills Finals which take place in Lyon, France next year.