George Plant, a stonemason with Ian Knapper Stonemasons in Cheadle, Staffordshire, boarded the plane for Japan this month to represent his country at the WorldSkills contest taking place 15-18 November.
He was part of the UK\'s team of 22 talented youngsters heading for this most prestigious of international skills events.
George, who has spent nine months in preparation for the event with Kevin Calpin, the stonemasonry programme leader at York College, commented: "I have always been interested in the creative element of stonemasonry and the more I learnt, the more I began to treat stonemasonry as a career instead of just a job. I\'m excited at the prospect of representing the UK at WorldSkills 2007 and having the chance to win a medal.
"Ian Knapper and Stephen Wooley, who I work with, have both competed before and were very successful. I will be working very hard to achieve similar success."George will be competing against masons from 48 other countries. It is expected that at least 200,000 spectators will visit the event during its four days. They will see teams competing in 40 different vocational skills ranging from the building trades to beauty therapy.
For the British organisers, this year\'s event is a milestone on the road to WorldSkills 2011, which will be held in London.
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