A Level 3 Furniture Apprentice from City of Oxford College and University Centre, Stanley Mackintosh, has competed in vocational and skills excellence event, Euroskills Herning 2025, and is now in the running for the international stage of the competition.
Stanley Mackintosh is studying a Level 3 Apprenticeship in Bespoke Furniture Making at Rycotewood Furniture Centre, which combines college study with hands-on work experience with his employer, Bill Cleyndert and Company.
In September, Stanley competed at EuroSkills 2025 in Herning, Denmark, the biggest vocational education and skills excellence event in Europe.
Held every two years and organised by WorldSkills Europe, EuroSkills brings together hundreds of young people under the age of 25 from across the continent to compete for the chance to become the Best in Europe in their skill or profession.
Stanley said:“The opportunity to compete alongside the best in Europe and seeing the quality of work was very inspiring. It has definitely given me a big push as I continue training towards my goal of competing in WorldSkills next year.
“Throughout the competition I highlighted a few areas I need to improve on practically, but I also learnt how to cope with pressure on that scale.
“I ended the week physically and mentally exhausted, but when the time ran out and I was able to take a step back and look at what I had made, the feeling was incomparable.”
Having completed EuroSkills, Stanley is now training for the international stage of the competition, WorldSkills, which will be held in September 2026 in Shanghai, China.
“The key thing about Euroskills and WorldSkills is that although it’s a competition, its main goal is to promote vocational careers and push people to be better at what they do. This is something I’m noticing as I bring my competition experiences and techniques into my role as a cabinet maker at Bill Cleyndert & Company,” says Stanley.
“Over the next year I will continue my training with WorldSkills UK, with the goal of being selected for Team UK for WorldSkills 2026, and my end goal being to bring home a medal.”
“Alongside this, I will be working towards finishing my Level 3 course at Rycotewood, who have been very supportive throughout the WorldSkills process.”
Josh Hudson, Furniture Lead at City of Oxford College and University Centre, said: “Stan started his Level 2 Apprenticeship at Rycotewood in 2022.
“After progressing onto his Level 3 Apprenticeship, it was clear that his focus and excellence called for greater challenges.
“Conversations with Stan and his employer Bill Cleyndert & Company were unanimous in putting him forward for the EuroSkills regional qualifying heats, and his progression to the final in Herning, Denmark, was a fantastic opportunity for him to experience competition in furniture making at a whole new level.
“It’s been an honour to see Stan develop over the years, since he first came to Rycotewood at age 18. Having the opportunity to be part of his journey towards the WorldSkills competition has been a pleasure and seeing him develop has been great.”
The selection for the 48th WorldSkills competition will take place in March, with the final being held 22 – 27 September 2026.
Find out more about Furniture apprenticeships at City of Oxford College and University Centre or contact Activate Learning via 0800 612 6008.
