Honda brings 2011 ‘Games’ home

The car engineers of the future will be battling it out in the ‘WorldSkills Competition’ in 2011 – and Honda have helped bring these vocational ‘global games’ to the UK...

The UK WorldSkills team supported by the Honda Institute has successfully held off Australia and Sweden in the bid to host the 2011 WorldSkills Competition in London. The result announced on Wednesday morning in Melbourne, Australia is the culmination of much hard work and preparation by the UK team and is great news for the UK especially in the run up to the 2012 Olympics.

What is the WorldSkills Competition?

The WorldSkills Competition is the largest skills competition in the world and is held biennially.
700 competitors from 40 different member nations compete in 40 skills (ranging from automotive technology and bricklaying to hairdressing and cooking).
Entrants compete over 4 days to test their capabilities in competitive conditions.
Gold, silver and bronze medals are awarded. Competitors achieving above the world class standard of 500 points receive a medallion of excellence.
Competitors must be aged 22 or younger in the year of the competition for most skills.

How is Honda involved?

The Honda Institute has supported the UK WorldSkills Team since 2004 and has heavily supported the UK’s Bid to host WorldSkills in London in 2011.
Support so far has included training and technical support for the competitors and their mentors at the Honda Institute. Further technical and logistical support has been agreed for the 2011 competition.

When does WorldSkills 2011 come to London?

WorldSkills London 2011 will take place at ExCel, London from the 6th to the 9th October 2011.

The UK has secured funding for the London bid for WorldSkills 2011 through sponsorship from the industry and skills partners and the Government has committed to matching these funds and underwriting the overall costs associated with hosting the event (cost estimated to be approximately
£22.2 million at current prices).

Geoff Matthews, Head of the Honda Institute said: "As Honda’s centre for people development in the UK, The Honda Institute is responsible for creating passion and developing skills in over 10,000 people in Honda’s dealer network, encouraging, recognising and rewarding excellence in all our people. We see the same spirit in the young people who take the challenge to compete in WorldSkills, and The Honda Institute are thrilled to play a part in bringing WorldSkills 2011 to London."