Its official - Adam is a man of excellence

Globe-trotting Adam Ferguson is a man of international excellence.

The CAFRE horticulture graduate has just been awarded a Medallion of Excellence at the WorldSkills Final in Abu Dhabi.

Ballymena-man Adam (21) had beaten off thousands of fellow students and apprentices to win one of only two places on Team UK to compete in the final of the WorldSkills Landscape Gardening Competition.

His CAFRE Tutor, Colin McKnight, who until recently was the Training Manager for the UK Squad said: “I am absolutely delighted with all that Adam has achieved, both in Abu Dhabi and over the last two years at the regional, national and international competitions to make secure his place on the UK Worldskills Team.

“Receiving the Medallion of Excellence is recognition at World level of his skill and professionalism as a landscape gardener. He is an inspiration to fellow students and a great ambassador for CAFRE. We’re very proud of him and all that he achieved since he started his career in horticulture at Greenmount.”

Last year Adam won a gold medal at the Euroskills Competition in Gothenburg, Sweden. This was the first time a UK team had won Gold for Landscape Gardening at European level.

Adam, who was recently invited to China for a 10 day trip to compete with their Worldskills squad, said he was delighted with the Abu Dhabi result.

“Winning a place on the team and competing in Abu Dhabi was fantastic. It came after two years of hard training and competing. The event was a great experience, much bigger than I had imagined with 1,300 young people from 59 WorldSkills Member countries showcasing their talent across 51 skills competitions.

“I’ve learned so much and hope to continue to use my skills and experience to develop my career. My success in Worldskills has opened up so many different opportunities and helped me create a great CV,” he added.

Paul Mooney, Head of Horticulture at Greenmount, said: “It has been my pleasure to watch Adam come to us as student at sixteen years of age and develop into such a highly skilled and talented horticulturist. His success is very well deserved. Everyone at CAFRE’s Greenmount Campus is very proud of him.”

Notes to editors: 

1. Visit the CAFRE website for more information on the wide range of professional horticulture courses available at Greenmount and follow us on facebook@discovercafre and on twitter @Discover CAFRE to keep up to date with all our students’ successes.
2. All media enquiries to DAERA Press Office or tel: 028 9052 4619.

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