How a passion for painting makes a world of difference
Mike Swan’s role as Curriculum and Quality Leader in Construction is to manage the pre-vocational construction courses and deliver training and lecturing on these. His main skill is in Painting and Decorating but he is also an expert in Worldskills and is a UK Training Manager and Technical Mentor.
“Worldskills is an organisation which runs international skills competitions on the European and worldwide stage. These are sometimes referred to as the Worldskills Olympics and are the same as sports Olympics but instead of sports, it’s skills.
“I’ve been involved with Worldskills UK since 2005, training nearly 100 medallists in regional, national and international competitions including Gold medallist Painting and Decorating Worldskills Calgary 2009 Mark Nevin. Mark now assists me with training, judging, and coaching the new generations of Worldskills UK squad and team competitors.”
Mike’s responsibilities at WSUK include training, coaching, organising and judging. He often meets people from all over the world and he is able to share what he has learned with D&A College staff and students.
“The best part is knowing when I have inspired a D&A student to achieve, that they now aspire to reach their potential and that I have positively influenced their future lives.”
Shanghai will host the 46th Worldskills Competition this year from 11-17 October.