This week, Rycotewood Furniture Apprentice Stanley Mackintosh is competing in Cabinet Making at WorldSkills Shanghai 2026, putting his precision, creativity and craftsmanship to the test alongside some of the world’s most talented young professionals.
In this series, we follow along on Stanley’s journey.
Day one
On the first day of WorldSkills, Stanley and the Rycotewood team explored the arena in Shanghai before Stanley took part in the first part of the competition, where participants were shown the full test project for the first time.
Stanley said: “It’s a really nicely designed project. The first hour was a tricky one as always, getting your head in the game, but I’m feeling positive about it and I’m looking forward to the rest of the week.”
The Rycotewood team spent the day exploring the variation of skills being showcased and talking to Chinese technical colleges. They covered 6 halls and recorded 14K steps!
Stanley’s tutor Josh Hudson, said: “It was incredibly inspiring and thought provoking seeing how vocational education differs in other countries.”
Learn more about Stanley’s journey to WorldSkills 2026
- Rycotwood student in the running for international vocational competition, WorldSkills
- Rycotewood Furniture Centre student selected to represent UK at the global ‘Skills Olympics’ in Shanghai
