Citygate Automotive technician Marc Cockerton took the Gold award in Light Vehicle Technology in the 2025 Worldskills Automotive National Finals.
The win was announced by the Institute of the Motor Industry (IMI), the automotive professional body that champions people.
Taking place at Cardiff and Vale College between 25th and 28th November, winners were selected from the 24 finalists who each completed practical tasks in their specialist category – Light Vehicle Technology, Automotive Body Repair, Automotive Refinishing and Heavy Vehicle Technology.
Nick Connor, CEO of the IMI, said: “This year we had a record 600+ high-quality nominations to the WorldSkills’ Automotive Skills Competitions, proving that there is a real hunger to excel in automotive.
“And it has been tremendously exciting to see the finalists demonstrate their incredible skills throughout the competitions.
“The Skills Competitions are designed by industry experts to help enhance and develop skills, not just test existing knowledge.
“We continue to revise the content to ensure technical skills meet the real-World needs of our fast-evolving sector, making them a hugely valuable programme for young automotive talent.
“Our sector can feel very confident about the future if these young people represent the wealth of talent and enthusiasm that is out there. Congratulations to every nominee and especially to the finalists and winners.”
The 2025 winners are:
Light Vehicle Technology
Gold: Marc Cockerton, Inspiro Learning, Citygate Automotive
Silver: Daniel Morris, Stellantis UK, Northgate Vehicle Hire
Bronze: Austin Watson-Jones, Exeter College, MBS Exeter
Heavy Vehicle Technology
Gold: Tristan Hunter, Remit Training, MAN Truck & Bus UK
Silver: Oliver Thomas, Cardiff and Vale College, Celtic Vacuum
Bronze: Will Foulger, Skillnet Limited, Foulger’s (CVS) Ltd – Commercial Vehicle Services
Automotive Body Repair
Gold: Belal Al Haka CAE AMIMI, Cardiff and Vale College, FMG Repair Services
Silver: Ryan Davies, Riverpark Training, Nigel Whann Accident Repair Centre Limited
Bronze: Joseph Cullen, Southern Regional College, Wright’s Accident Repair Centre
Automotive Refinishing
Gold: Jack Harvison, Southern Regional College, The Body Shop NI
Silver: Keeley Tait, Auto Assess, Steer Automotive Group
Bronze: Dafydd Jones, NPTC Group of Colleges, Sinclair Group
Eligible finalists could go on to represent the UK on the global stage at the 2028 WorldSkills International in Japan. To be eligible, they must achieve the required score and be aged 22 or younger in the year of the international finals.
