North Wales Talent from Grŵp Llandrillo Menai Representing Team UK at WorldSkills Shanghai 2026

Grŵp Llandrillo Menai will be cheering on three talented students and two dedicated staff members representing Team UK at the prestigious WorldSkills Shanghai competition this week.

Grŵp Llandrillo Menai is proud to have students representing the UK in three separate disciplines:

20-year-old Yuliia will demonstrate her skills in the Restaurant Services competition. Yuliia is studying for a Level 3 Diploma in Professional Food and Beverage Service at Coleg Llandrillo’s Rhos-on-Sea campus. Originally from Kyiv, Ukraine, she has studied at the college since 2022, after her family moved to North Wales following Russia’s invasion.

“I am absolutely thrilled and honoured to be selected to represent the country at the largest international competition in restaurant service,” said Yuliia. “I feel incredibly grateful for this amazing opportunity.”

Joining her is apprentice Madeleine Warburton, also 20, competing in the Renewable Energy category. Madeleine started her Offshore Wind Turbine Technician Apprenticeship at Coleg Llandrillo’s Rhyl campus in 2023.

Madeleine said:

“Being selected to represent the UK at WorldSkills Shanghai 2026 is an absolute honour, and I’m incredibly proud to be doing it as an RWE apprentice with the backing of my tutors at Coleg Llandrillo in Rhyl.”

Madeleine added:

“I’m passionate about renewable energy and the role offshore wind plays in tackling climate change, and I hope my journey shows other young people that there are amazing opportunities in this industry.”

Yuliia and Madeleine have been preparing for this moment for a long time. Progressing through rigorous WorldSkills UK regional and national competitions, followed by intensive specialist training both in the UK and internationally. In the final months before Shanghai, they both underwent further high-performance preparation to ensure they are ready to compete at the highest possible level.

“This journey began three years ago with a dream of reaching Shanghai, and it feels truly incredible to now see that dream becoming a reality,” said Yuliia.

Coleg Menai alumnus Peter Jenkins will compete for Grŵp Llandrillo Menai alongside teammate Pratham Lohia, a Master’s student at Middlesex University, in the highly demanding discipline of Robot Systems Integration.

For Peter, the road to Shanghai has been a test of resilience. After winning Silver medals at both the Welsh and UK national competitions in 2024, he was initially dealt a blow when he was told he hadn’t made the cut for the next international stages.

Refusing to give up, Peter decided to pivot, testing his luck in an entirely different discipline: Additive Manufacturing. After securing yet another Silver medal at the Welsh level and preparing to compete in the UK national finals for a second time, he received the surprise phone call of a lifetime – he was being called up to the elite UK Selection Squad for robotics.

“I was shocked to find out that I was selected for Team UK,” Peter said. “It’s been such a long journey. I never thought it would happen to me. My college, Coleg Menai, supported me through it all, and they are still supporting me now, even though I moved on a year or so ago.”

Aled Jones-Griffith, Chief Executive of Grŵp Llandrillo Menai, said:

“Having three students selected for Team UK is an outstanding achievement and a testament to their exceptional hard work, talent, and dedication. Competing on the world stage at WorldSkills Shanghai is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and everyone across Grŵp Llandrillo Menai is incredibly proud of them.”

In addition to the student competitors, two Coleg Menai engineering lecturers, Geraint Rowlands and Bryn Jones, are in Shanghai supporting Team UK as official WorldSkills UK Training Managers for Electronics and Additive Manufacturing, respectively.

Known as the “Skills Olympics,” WorldSkills brings together the world’s top vocational students and apprentices to showcase elite technical talent across a wide variety of skill areas on an international stage.

With this year’s event in Shanghai expected to attract 250,000 visitors, including worldwide industry leaders, the Grŵp’s role in elevating North Wales’ reputation for vocational brilliance will be firmly in the spotlight.

The competition sees elite competitors tested through rigorous, real-world practical challenges designed to benchmark global industry standards.

We wish Yuliia, Madeleine, Peter, Geraint, and Bryn the very best of luck as they showcase their expertise in Shanghai this week. The whole college community is cheering them on!