Mr. Pat Twomey:

I represented Ireland in the construction metalwork category and, luckily enough, I came out with a medallion. I will explain how I came into the job. I would not say the career guidance I was given in secondary school would have been much of a help. Like others, I found there was a focus on college and on filling in the CAO form just for the sake of it. I was offered an apprenticeship by a man for whom I was working in a summer job. That was how I got to learn about apprenticeships. The school did not help at all, really. To be fair, SOLAS gave me some good help. Any time I had questions, I could ring them up and that was good. As I come from a Gaeltacht, I also got support from Údarás na Gaeltachta, which was a great help. My experience at Ireland Skills Live was of great assistance when I was in Kazan. I was used to having to deal with crowds passing by, and watching everyone as they did so, and that helped to calm me down and to get a little more used to it.