Last month, Patrick Sheerin from Portadown and Caolan McCartan from Camlough, Newry achieved monumental success at EuroSkills Herning. The duo took home Team UK’s only medal of colour, a bronze medal in Industry 4.0. Alongside their impressive podium finish, five other Team UK members were awarded medallions of excellence. This collective achievement placed Team UK in 15th place overall, tied with Luxembourg and Slovakia, out of 32 European countries competing in the prestigious biennial event.
Patrick and Caolan’s success followed their gold medal win at the 2024 WorldSkills UK National Finals in November 2024. This national victory led to their selection for Team UK, giving them the opportunity to represent the UK and showcase their skills on the European stage.
Reflecting on the journey to EuroSkills, Caolan described the months leading up to the European competition as a whirlwind of intense training, pressure and travel. The pair regularly travelled between Northern Ireland and England to train under Marcin Regulski, Team UK’s Industry 4.0 training manager. Caolan said:
“I would say the intensity ramped up quite a bit. We were shown a lot more hardware than we've ever seen before and although you might not believe it, the skills gap had increased.”
“We really had to put in a lot more time and effort. The UK national finals had set us up on a good platform, but this last six, seven months has been a lot more intense than I'd ever expected.”
This intensity of effort was worth it, with Patrick and Caolan being announced as bronze medallists. Patrick added:
“To win the medal was unbelievable. It was similar to the national finals in the sense of, we think we might have placed, but we don't know. So as soon as you see your name on the screen and the whole stadium erupts. Everybody was just in awe and screaming and shouting. It was an experience I don't think I'll ever forget.”
He continued:
“I was really proud of how we did, whether we won the medal or not. I thought that we did the best we could. We felt like we'd won regardless.”
Looking ahead, the pair are already focused on the next challenge, the WorldSkills global competition in Shanghai in September 2026. Patrick said:
“Provided we get picked for Team UK, it's about honing the skills that we have now. If we can refine those skills, in a year hopefully we could be standing on the podium in Shanghai in 2026. We've got a medal at every competition, so why not go the one step further, on the international stage.”
Both Patrick and Caolan began their WorldSkills journey while undertaking their Higher Level Apprenticeships at Southern Regional College (SRC). They were paired together for the 2024 national competition by their lecturer, Sean MacDiarmada, who has a strong track record of mentoring medal-winning students in Automation, Mechatronics and Industry 4.0. Sean has continued to support Patrick and Caolan, ensuring they had access to training facilities in preparation for EuroSkills.
Their message for future competitors heading to this year’s national finals is simple but powerful:
“You go for it, because what have you got to lose? There are so many opportunities that come could come from this. It's unbelievable. Whether it's increasing your knowledge, travelling or making new connections in industry. For everything you put in, you’ll get twice as much out. You just need to be willing to put in that extra bit of work.”
About EuroSkills
EuroSkills is Europe’s largest biennial vocational skills competition for young people under 25 years, with young professionals across Europe competing to be named the Best in Europe in the chosen skillset. The competition promotes excellence in vocational training, advancing the careers of its competitors and encouraging innovation and quality in education and training across the continent.
EuroSkillls Herning 2025 was the ninth edition of the competition series, hosted in Herning, Denmark. The competition spanned five days, from 9th – 13th September, at MCH Messecenter Herning, Scandinavia’s largest exhibition centre. The tenth edition will be co-hosted by Germany and Luxembourg from 22–26 September 2027.
