Taking off from where I was last time. The week had finally come to compete in World Skills Ireland. The nerves are amplified. I travelled down the night before the big day to be prepared for the first day. We ventured over to the RDS to see what was in store for us. Deliveries arrived, and we were provided with our fridges and stations that we would be working from.
Having seen where our showcase would be, we decided to head back to the hotel and grab some food. This not only helped to calm the nerves, but to also fuel us up for the big day ahead. That evening consisted of going over notes and tomorrow’s game plan.
I had decided on a theme for my display, “BBQ Banquet.” This meant that all my products had to be made to suit the theme. It was finally morning and the day had come. The first thing was our briefing, letting us know what we had in store. Up first was breaking down the lamb, we had 2 hours for this. Then onto beef, pork, and chicken. All the breakdown was done on day one. Day 2 was the manufacturing of meat and food preparation. This day also involved a sausage making skills test. Day 3 was the most enjoyable for me personally. This was because it was a retrial display and placing all the final changes to the products.
Overall, I found the competition to not only be an unforgettable experience but also a great challenge. Throughout, I got to view myself differently and see the parts I was unsure of or found difficult to not be as bad as I had anticipated. It was great to be put up to the task and gain invaluable skills from instructors and fellow competitors. The competition, I can safely say has given me so much confidence in my ability to be presented with the challenge and be able to carry it out, see my visions come together.
I could not recommend more for any fellow apprentices to put themselves forward for the task. Having completed my first year in MSLETB I can say I feel more comfortable and ready to see what the second year has in store.
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