FORMER Pembrokeshire College Joinery student, Christopher Caine, from Kilgetty, recently returned from EuroSkills in Budapest with a Medallion of Excellence.

Chris, who works for DH Carpentry and Joinery, was a member of Team UK - elite apprentices and students working in the engineering, digital, construction and professional industries - who travelled to Budapest for EuroSkills 2018.

The team was up against the best Europe has to offer in the four-day contest.

Team UK arrived home with one gold, three bronze and seven medallions of excellence placing the UK ninth in Europe.

The results bolstered organisers WorldSkills UK, whose mission is to accelerate careers and achieve excellence and optimum levels of skills performance.

Dr Neil Bentley, CEO of WorldSkills UK said: “This is a fantastic result for Team UK and the country as a whole. We were gunning for a top ten position and we got it! These brilliant young people - training and preparing them to be among the very best across Europe - are the UK’s new generation of high flyers.

“Budapest was a litmus test to see how the UK might fare when we leave the European Union next year. We had an amazing result and the team worked incredibly hard, but we can’t be complacent. Other countries across Europe are investing heavily in skills development, and we need to ensure we don’t fall behind. Governments, employers and the education sector - must embrace this success and use the energy and momentum generated here to inspire to help propel economic growth and productivity.”