World Skills UK Mechatronics Competition 2009
In an attempt to help raise the profile of our sector and to help attract more young people in particular to consider our sector as their first choice for a career the Council organised the first ever Northern Ireland wide Mechatronics Skills competition. The competition, with funding from DEL, was hosted by the Northern Regional College in Ballymena and featured apprentices from companies and colleges throughout Northern Ireland took place on the 29th March 2009.
Advanced industrial automation and control, process control systems and robotics are the essential tools of modern manufacturing plants. Mechatronics involves the seamless integration of electronic engineering, mechanical engineering, control engineering and software engineering. In essence Mechatronics relates to mechanical systems that are electronically controlled by intelligent computer systems.
The competition involved four main tasks within parameters which embraced design, assembly and test for teams of two Mechatronics apprentices.
The eventual winners of the Northern Ireland competition were Patrick Gillian employed by Fivemiletown Creamery and Roy Hitching employed by FG Wilson, with both winners attending Belfast Metropolitan college undertaking Higher National qualifications.
Both Patrick and Roy will now compete in the Worldskills UK Mechatronics competition planned for the 11th and 12th June 2009 and they will compete against other competitors across the UK. The Northern Ireland competition was so successful that Worldskills UK also issued an invitation to our very close runners up team and this team with Fergal Doherty from Schrader Electronics and Daniel Latimer from FG Wilson will also compete in the National final.
The UK final will involve competitors undertaking four tasks and this will include sequencing using pneumatic elements, pressure sequence valves, electro-pneumatic elements, functionality and simulation. Also all competitors will be trained in the use of simulation software.
Best wishes to our competitors and many thanks to their companies for their support. Thanks also to Belfast Metropolitan College and the Northern Regional College and their help in developing our competitors in the knowledge and skills needed to compete at this very high technological level.
If either of the Northern Ireland teams were to win the UK competition then there could be the possibility of representing the UK in the World Skills Mechatronics competition planned for 2011 and staged in London.