Saturday, 12 March 2011 14:00 Young aspiring artists and designers are being invited to design medals for this year's WorldSkills competition.

Entrants between the ages of nine and 16 have been invited to design medals for the event, which is due to be hosted in London this October.

WorldSkills brings together talented young people from around the world to compete in 45 skills including floristry, carpentry, cooking and hairdressing.

Each will be competing in their specialist skills area for Gold, Silver, Bronze or Medallions of Excellence.

The competition is expected to draw an anticipated 150,000 attendees from across the world, as well as 1000 competitors from over 50 countries competing in 45 individual skills competitions.

Bentley Motors, which is sponsoring the Manufacturing Team Challenge, will use the two winning designs to make the official WorldSkills London 2011 medals.

Robin Page, head of interior design at Bentley Motors and a member of the judging panel, said: "We are looking for a design that works well for a medal and embodies the character and values of WorldSkills London 2011.

"The Bentley engineers will produce medals of the highest quality, and we need a design that reflects this level of excellence - which is where the young designers come in."

The two winners of the medal design competition, each with two guests, will be invited to the headquarters of Bentley Motors in Crewe to see the medals in development.

They will also be treated to a full tour of the factory, followed by lunch with a Bentley designer and a chauffeured drive in a Bentley Mulsanne.

The winners will also be asked to help present the medals at the Closing Ceremony at The 02 Arena in London, during which time more than 200 of the winner's medals will be awarded in front of an audience of 6000.

Aiden Jones, executive director of WorldSkills London 2011, said: "By launching the first ever medal design competition for WorldSkills, we hope to tap into the creativity and imagination of young designers across Britain.

"The concept of WorldSkills has always been not only to reach out to the 1000 international competitors who will participate in WorldSkills London 2011 this autumn, but to inspire a whole generation about the value of skills."

Ten regional and national runners up will also be showcased at WorldSkills London 2011 and online.

The deadline for entries is 6 May 2011. Click here to download the brief and apply.

Mark Astley

(Pictured: Robin Page, head of interior design at Bentley Motors)