Kyle Claypool from Optima Worldwide Limited, a website development and design firm specializing in collision repair industry websites, has been named the SkillsUSA Technical Expert for the web design competition of the WorldSkills Championships. Claypool will serve as a member of the WorldSkills International Web Design Contest Technical Committee and will be a judge at the WorldSkills Championships in London late next year.
In addition to helping conduct and judge the international competition, Claypool will be responsible for training the USA competitor Brett Patterson. Patterson, 20, from Lansing, Tenn., was selected to represent the United States after competing and winning at the local, state and national levels through the SkillsUSA Championships. Patterson will join 19 other competitors on the SkillsUSA 2011 World Team who will be competing in contests like auto body, automotive refinishing, auto service technology, culinary arts, precision machining, welding, cosmetology and many more.
"It’s an honor to be selected to be on the web design contest technical committee for the WorldSkills Championships," Claypool said. "I’m looking forward to working with Brett in the months to come to prepare him for the rigors of this four-day competition where he’ll face the best in the world as well as the challenges of language and cultural differences that are unique to WorldSkills."
Kyle Claypool is the second of his family to participate in WorldSkills. Mark Claypool, Kyle’s father, is SkillsUSA’s World Team Leader and has been since 1997.
"I was really pleased when SkillsUSA announced that Kyle was selected to be the USA’s technical expert for the web design competition," Mark Claypool said. "Leading our nation’s very best is one of the most rewarding things I do, and now Kyle has the opportunity to experience that as well."
Mark Claypool is a contributing editor for BodyShop Business and the founder of Select Tech, SOPMD and Optima Worldwide, companies that serve the collision repair industry.
SkillsUSA is a partnership of students, teachers and industry working together to ensure America has a skilled work force. The nationwide organization serves more than 300,000 high school, college and postsecondary students—and their instructors—in training programs in technical, skilled, and service occupations, including health occupations.
SkillsUSA has the active support of more than 1,100 corporations, trade associations, business and labor unions at the national level.
More information:
Find out more about the 2011 WorldSkills event in London
