James and Harry to show their skills on global stage
Cavan and Monaghan are both represented on the 16-member Team Ireland, which will compete at the WorldSkills Shanghai 2026.
Electrician James Hunt (22) from Virginia will fly the flag for Cavan, while Harry Green (22) from Carrickmacross will don his Monaghan jersey following their respective successes at the national competitions in the RDS earlier this month.
Harry, who is entering his fourth year studying Product Design at Technological University (TU) Dublin, will compete in Additive Manufacturing CAD, a skill that combines computer-aided design with 3D printing and advanced manufacturing technologies.
“It’s essentially 3D printing and computer modelling,” Harry explained. “It’s like designing stuff on the computer and then making it in reality using different machines.”
Competitors are expected to complete a range of challenging tasks, from recreating broken components to designing products that meet specific performance requirements.
Harry’s journey to the world stage began when a lecturer at TU Dublin encouraged him to enter the national competition. That decision ultimately earned him a national WorldSkills title and a place on Team Ireland.
As the competition against the world’s best approaches, Harry admits feeling mixed emotions: “I’m terrified and also excited,” he said.
“There’s a lot of pressure. It’s a world competition. It’s incredible to be able to compete for Ireland. It’s amazing.”
He believes WorldSkills plays a significant role in highlighting career opportunities available outside traditional academic routes: “It’s important for people who don’t know what they want to do after school to go to the nationals [as a spectator],” he said.
James Hunt meanwhile will compete in the Electrical Installations category. “For the last 12 weeks I’ve been training in DKIT with experts. It’s been very skills-focused, trying to brush up on the skills needed to do well in the competition.”
The competition is spread across four days, with competitors completing a demanding project over a total of 22 hours. To prepare, James has been recreating competition conditions each week.
“We try to recreate a competition scenario. It’s hard to get the competition experience, but we do our best. I’ve been doing one of those competitions every week for the last 12 weeks.”
One area that has particularly interested him is electrical programming; a discipline he had little experience of before beginning his WorldSkills training: “It’s another door open and another avenue to have.”
Hunt began working with Virginia-based contractor JF Electrical at the age of just 16 years, carrying out weekend work before starting his apprenticeship after completing his Leaving Certificate in 2022. He qualified earlier this year and now works as an electrical foreman with the company.
As departure day approached, excitement was beginning to build: “The pressure is coming on now. We fly out Friday (September 18), so it’s getting close,” he admitted.
Ahead of travelling to China, Team Ireland members will attend the national skills competitions to promote careers in the trades. The squad has also taken part in team-building events and mentoring sessions with former Special Forces soldier Ray Goggins as they prepare for the biggest competition of their careers.