A Coleg Ceredigion student is heading to Gdańsk in Poland to compete against the best hospitality workers in Europe to be crowned the winner of the EuroSkills competition.

Daniel Davies, age 21, is participating in the Restaurant Services category at EuroSkills Gdańsk 2023, which is the biggest vocational education and skills excellence event in Europe.

Over 600 competitors will travel to Poland from across Europe to showcase their technical knowledge and capabilities in a series of challenges, with only four having been selected from Wales. 

EuroSkills is the bi-annual European competition hosted by WorldSkills, an initiative that inspires young people to develop a passion for skills and pursue excellence through national and international competitions.

Daniel was selected to represent Team UK after taking part in the WorldSkills UK Finals, where he mastered his skill and excelled against his peers.

Commenting on his upcoming departure to Poland, Daniel said: “It still hasn’t kicked in that I’ll be representing Team UK next week. I absolutely love competing to challenge my knowledge and skills as the competitions are a great opportunity to learn as much as you can, and I get a real adrenaline rush from it.

“I started out competing regionally in Skills Competition Wales but didn’t win a medal the first time. I then entered again, came home with a gold, and went on to the UK Nationals. Now I’ve been selected to represent Team UK on an international stage at EuroSkills.”

Daniel will be participating in a series of projects within strict time frames over the course of four days between September 5 and September 9, with the results being announced on the final day.

More than 80 countries participate in WorldSkills, which helps develop skills through global training standards, benchmarking systems, and enhancing industry engagement.

In Wales, the project is funded by the Welsh Government and run by a dedicated network of colleges, work-based learning providers and employer-led organisations from across the country.