Building Surveying student to compete at WorldSkills UK 2025 National Finals
BSc (Hons) Building Surveying student, Adam Lyon, is set to compete in the upcoming WorldSkills UK 2025 National Finals.
WorldSkills UK Competitions celebrate excellence across more than 40 skill areas, helping young people develop the high-level technical skills they need to succeed in their chosen careers.
The National Finals will take place for the first time across multiple venues in South Wales, from 25–28 November.
Adam will be representing Glasgow Caledonian in the Digital Construction category, competing against five other students from New College Lanarkshire and one from architectural practice, BPTW.
He expressed that Michael McGuire, his lecturer, has supported him heavily for the competition.
As a Training Manager with WorldSkills UK, Michael trains the best and brightest young Building Information Modelling (BIM)/digital construction students within the UK for the European and World Skills Finals every year.
Passionate about Digital Construction, Adam says he “just took to it instantly” and is eager to showcase his skills on the national stage.
We spoke to Adam to find out more about what led him to the finals.
Motivation to take part in WorldSkills UK
“I was very committed to doing it and determined to do well, part of that was because I was Michael's first student from Glasgow Caledonian to take part in this.
“I did some very basic stuff when we did it in class, it was building a standard house but, in the competition, it is more like an office building or a block of flats, so it is slightly more advanced. I have had to put a lot of effort into trying to do well and I want that to pay off.
“My National 5 teacher said I had a natural ability for Computer Aided Design (CAD), albeit it wasn't this type of software, it was smaller scale, computer aided design.”
Structural model that Adam made in the qualifier
His experience so far during WorldSkills UK
“I entered at the entry level and got through that fine then I went into the national qualifier and got through that and now I'm going on to the National Final at the end of the month.
“I will create a structural model of a building based off plans that they give me and then I'll build an architectural model.
“Then I’ll do a clash detection and be given two models, one might be the services, so piping and ductwork, and another might be a structural model, which I’ll put into the software, Navisworks, and it will detect components that collide. For example, if a structural beam were to pass through a duct, the software would flag it up.”
Support from staff at Glasgow Caledonian
“Without my lecturer Michael McGuire, I would not be where I am, he has supported me heavily and given me a lot of his time.
“Michael has obviously introduced me to it, and he's supported me throughout it and helped me a lot and improve.
“The staff that I've spoken to about the competition have helped me to amend my hand in dates too because of the time that I am going away, so they have been happy to accommodate and have been supportive.
Advice for other students
“Just go for it! I am sure that Michael speaks about WorldSkills UK to his other classes so you should apply and try and get a few of us going to next years or further competitions.”
Watch the WorldSkills UK National Finals Livestream
By Lucy Rodgers
Got a student story? Email me at lucy.rodgers@gcu.ac.uk