One of our Electrical Electronic Engineer Apprentices, Joe Cook, had the opportunity to participate in the Electronics WorldSkills competition. WorldSkills are an independent charity, working with employers, education, and governments to support young people across the world through competition-based training, assessment, and benchmarking. The national teams will test their abilities against world class competitors in a series of events worldwide.

Firstly, Joe completed an online activity to test his skills and knowledge in his chosen discipline. This led to an invite to the Regional Competition held in Swansea, where he would compete with others from a range of higher education programmes from across the UK (United Kingdom). Throughout the competition, competitors were moderated by expert judges who assessed them based on their skills and techniques. Here is what Joe had to say about his experience:

Joe Cook competing at WorldSkills Regional competition, 23 June 2022

“On the 23rd of June this year, I took a trip down to Swansea to compete in the WorldSkills Regional competition. The day consisted of four electronics-focused examinations, two in the morning and two in the afternoon. The first examination was a soldering task, designed to highlight our skills at soldering ‘through-hole’ technology components on a printed circuit board. The second task of the morning was an electronics theory test, examining our knowledge of electronics-based equations, general electronics theory, and mathematical knowledge.

After completion of the second task, this led to a lunch break where I had a very necessary, exotic meatball panini, before proceeding on with the next two examinations.

The first consisted of a breadboard task, that tested our circuit schematic knowledge and familiarity with integrated circuits with a Schmitt trigger oscillator and a binary up counter connected to a 7-segment display.

The final examination, which in my opinion was the most exciting, was the fault-finding task. We were each given a signal generator circuit board with 5 intentional faults placed upon it. Our role was to find the faults using equipment including an oscilloscope, a multimeter and a power supply. The next task was to de-solder the faulty component(s) using a rework station and replace it with a functional one. After all faults had been repaired, the board was then function tested and passed by an examiner.

The event was a fantastic way to highlight the skills I have developed throughout my Technical Apprenticeship at the University of Manchester and has allowed me to reflect and recognise my abilities within my specialised field. All in all, a wonderful day.”

Watch this space for news of Joe’s competition journeys.

For information about the University of Manchester Technical Apprenticeship Programme, please contact Laura Jane, Technical Apprenticeship Programme Coordinator (laura-jane.williams@manchester.ac.uk).  

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