A CARPENTRY apprentice has been ranked as one of the best in his trade in the world.

Joe Price, 20, was selected to go head to head with 15 international competitors from as far as Korea and New Zealand at the world’s largest international vocational skills competition, WorldSkills London 2011.

Joe came in a commendable fourth place at the event on October 9 at the ExCel Centre in London’s Docklands.

Shrewsbury College carpentry and joinery programme leader Stuart Raine said: “Joe has done extremely well, ranking fourth in the world.

“The Worldskills competition represented the culmination of 18 months preparation and hard work and the college is very proud of his success.

“Having already been crowned as the UK’s Advanced Apprentice of the Year, Joe is a great role model for other young apprentices.”

Joe was one of 43 UK team members who completed an intense training and development programme so he could reach the standard required to compete on an international stage.

Over its 60 year history, WorldSkills International has come to symbolise excellence in vocational training.

Every two years hundreds of young skilled people  from 52 countries, plus their trainers test themselves against demanding international standards.