IMI Competitions Manager wins WorldSkills EDI Heroes Award for second consecutive year

IMI Competitions Manager wins WorldSkills EDI Heroes Award for second consecutive year
Richard Hutchins secures Skills Competition Diversity Champion accolade as the IMI launches the 2022 Skills Competitions

As the Institute of the Motor Industry (IMI) launches the 2022 Skills Competitions, it is delighted to announce that Competitions Manager, Richard Hutchins, has won a prestigious WorldSkills UK’s Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Heroes Award. The EDI Heroes Awards celebrate the individuals and organisations championing diversity and inclusion within the business and technical education sectors, a mission the IMI is committed to achieving for the automotive sector.

For the second consecutive year, Richard has secured the Skills Competition Diversity Champion accolade in recognition of his contribution in driving diversity and inclusion in the WorldSkills national skills competitions in 2021, through IMI member participation. And he plans to bring the same level of focus on diversity and inclusion to the 2022 Skills Competitions, which launch today. Throwing a spotlight on the most talented young automotive apprentices, the 2022 Skills Competitions are designed to raise standards, esteem and levels of expertise in technical skills right across the sector. IMI member nominees will compete nationwide to qualify for the annual WorldSkills UK Competitions.

The WorldSkills UK competitions are designed by industry experts and enhance the practical skills and knowledge taught on training courses by assessing an individual’s employability attributes against set criteria in a competitive timed environment. The programme has a real impact on those taking part, with 90% of previous entrants saying their career progression improved after competing and 86% stating their personal and employability skills had improved.  

“We are incredibly proud of Richard in achieving this hugely important accolade, which is so rightly deserved”, commented Joanna Hollingdale, Careers & Student Membership Manager at the IMI. “More than 20 automotive apprentices who entered the IMI Skills Competitions last year were shortlisted for the WorldSkills UK competition, thanks to Richard’s unyielding passion and commitment.

“Not only is it a personal win for Richard, it is also an endorsement of the IMI’s ambition to drive change led by our Diversity Task Force. Over the past year, each of the Working Groups within our Diversity Task Force has made a significant commitment to understand the challenges our industry needs to embrace, and their recommendations will be included in a full report to be launched on 17th March. This will include benchmarking professional standards against cultural competency and developing Continual Professional Development activities that effectively support diversity and inclusion within the automotive sector.”  

Attached Image 1 – IMI Competitions Manager, Richard Hutchins, wins a prestigious WorldSkills UK’s Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Heroes Award – Skills Competition Diversity Champion.

Attached Image 2 – Richard Hutchins, IMI Competitions Manager with the ‘Refinishing’ judging team for the IMI Skills Competitions 2022 final.
 

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