Virginia electrician awarded Medal of Excellence at WorldSkills Shanghai 2026

Electrician James Hunt from Virginia has been awarded a medal of excellence in the electrical installations category at WorldSkills Shanghai 2026, which took place last week.

The 22 year old formed part of the 16-member Team Ireland who qualified for the international competition following their success in last year's national competition. He was joined by 22 year old Harry Green from Carrickmacross, who competed in the Additive Manufacturing CAD category.

James' award, which recognises competitors who demonstrated world-class standards in their respective skills, was one of a total of seven medals allocated to Team Ireland.

Team Ireland’s 16 competitors joined more than 1,400 young skilled professionals from 68 countries and regions in Shanghai, competing across 64 skill competitions from September 22-27.

Across the four-day competition, competitors were challenged to demonstrate the highest levels of technical ability, precision and professionalism in their respective skills, competing alongside some of the most talented young skilled professionals from around the world.

Among the highlights for Ireland was a Bronze Medal for Charlie Ward in Cookery, while the Limerick chef was also named Best of Nation, recognising his performance as the competitor from Ireland whose performance best reflected excellence.

The results mark the culmination of months of intensive preparation for Team Ireland, with competitors undertaking specialist training and international practice competitions in the lead-up to Shanghai.

For the 16 members of Team Ireland, the experience in Shanghai represents another important milestone in their development as skilled professionals, with the competition providing an opportunity to showcase the value of technical skills, apprenticeships, further education and training on a global stage.

WorldSkills Ireland

The success of Team Ireland in Shanghai follows the national WorldSkills Ireland competition, which returned to the RDS in Dublin earlier this month, bringing together young people from across Ireland to explore the breadth of skills and career opportunities available through apprenticeships, further education and training.

Cavan electrical apprentice Jason McMahon (24) took home the top prize in the electrical installations category at the recent national competition.

The Kingscourt native will now go on to compete as part of Team Ireland at WorldSkills Europe, taking place in Düsseldorf in Germany next September.