‘I have been passionate about electronics since I was a little boy, tearing apart a lot of appliances but managing to create a few. My childhood inventions include a remote controlled train motor and even amplifiers and speakers. Everything I have done and achieved so far comes from my passion. I believe it would be very difficult to make success without passion.

‘After half a month of staying in London for the competition, my feelings are now a combination of joy and small regrets. I am happy for having such an opportunity to take part in a world skills event and visit a developed country, and to bring home a tiny piece of achievement. But much to my regret, I failed to bring home the medal.

‘Together with 18 competitors from Brazil, UK, Switzerland, Finland, Thailand, South Korea, etc, I went through four days of intense competition with tasks ranging from designing an electronic circuit board for an electronic compass device to measuring and soldering, to programming or searching for defects on a circuit board.

‘I was quite confident in dealing with designing, programming and soldering tasks, especially as I had had a wonderful opportunity to be trained by UK expert Raymond Coyle in a series of capacity building activities organised by British Council Vietnam. However, the measuring task designed by the Swiss was a real challenge. I’m sure the dream to win a medal could have been realised if I had been calmer.

	Le Anh Tuan in a soldering task “Photo: courtesy of WorldSkills International”

‘Life in London was very different. My first challenge was eating. Before we left Vietnam, we were warned that the food could possibly be very different and, although there was plenty food available, I chose my own fixed menu of two packs of Vietnamese instant noodle and one can of ready cooked meat day after day, brought with me from Vietnam.  I even packed milk and juice!

‘Before the competitions kicked started, I was given the chance to visit London’s famous icons such as Big Ben, Buckingham Palace and Tower Bridge, together with other competitors. We got chance to see London from the height of over 130 metres when standing in the London Eye; and cruised along the River Thames. I was so impressed that all vehicles stopped to give way to those requesting to cross the roads!

‘I struggled a little with London prices and couldn’t bring really bring any presents home. But all my family were just happy enough seeing me coming home safe. They were also excited to see me on national TV during the competition.

‘Taking part in WorldSkills London 2011 was a wonderful opportunity, and I wish I could pass all lessons learned to those who will compete in future competitions so that they could avoid the mistakes I made and could go further. I have just finished my studies at the University of Industry and been approached with some offers. However, the most important dream will still be my own electronics company, possibly in ten years’ time.’

	Vietnam team in the Parade of Nations in the Opening Ceremony (Le Anh Tuan is walking after three Vietnamese female representatives) “Photo: courtesy of WorldSkills International”

From the moment we heard that we had won the British Council’s Enterprise Award, and would be travelling to London as a result, we were at a loss for words to describe the happiness that filled our hearts. This was the first time that any one of us had travelled, and every experience would be new.

On the 2nd of October, we boarded the Royal Jordanian Flight heading for the ‘City of Fog’, a place  we never imagined we would ever get to see. The moment the plane touched down, we started taking pictures of everything! We made our way to the hotel on the ‘tube’ a novelty to us - even though it has been in use in London for over a hundred years.

London is fascinating with its London Eye, which is an incredible piece of mechanical engineering, and its museums. We saw Big Ben on our first day of exploring London, and this was the real thing  - not a picture in a book. London is fascinating with its London Eye, which is an incredible piece of mechanical engineering, and its museums.

In the evening, we headed to the London O2 Arena for the WorldSkills London 2011 opening ceremony.  I had never seen anything like it before. I felt both happy and enthusiastic as the ceremony progressed; happy because I have never seen anything of this magnitude, and enthusiastic because I decided I wanted to participate in the competitions like the participants from around the world.  The event brought out the competitor in me, and now I too want to have the opportunity of representing my country. I am confident that the day will come when I will take part in a similar event.

The next day, we visited the exhibition and its different sections with various skills put on display. We were all naturally attracted to the auto-mechanics section, because that is what we study back at home, where we saw amazing technology.  We saw skilled professionals from around the world who were doing a marvellous job, and were happy to realised that their skills level is not that different from our own.

With each minute we spent and each step we took we were learning something new.  This is an experience we will never forget. On the Saturday we bade farewell to London, it was somewhat a sad day. Now I am home and the experience has focussed me on working hard and one day I want to come back to London.