It’s not often that students get the chance to quiz a gold medallist as part of their training but that is exactly what a group of automotive students did this week at Exeter College's Automotive Training Centre when Tony Litchfield, 22 delivered a masterclass on how he became UK SkillAuto Auto Re-finishing champion at the end of last year.

Tony, who works at Kynaston Autobodies and originally hails from Teign School, was entered for the UK Championships in the lead up to the World Skills competitions and beat off over 700 competitors to make it through to the regional and then WorldSkills 2011 final – the world's largest international skills competition for young people – sharing joint first place with a fellow talented autofinisher from Northern Ireland.

Returning to talk to his fellow apprentices, Tony is now continuing with his training with Exeter College working on his Level 3 Apprenticeship and is a great role model for apprenticeships showing determination even when the recession meant he needed to consider a career move.

Tony says “I was a plumber but was laid off. So when something came up at Kynaston, I thought I'd give it a try. I've always been a hands-on person and here I've found myself working in a really friendly atmosphere. I have learned a lot from the people at the garage who have been doing this for a while, and at Exeter College where my tutor Nathan Weston also has a background in the trade. It's nice that they are able to pass their knowledge on.”

Part of the celebratory masterclass was a short presentation by Principal, Richard Atkins who marked Tony's national achievements and Mike Battrick from SATA, a leading spray gun manufacturer, presented him with an personalized paint gun in recognition of his success in the competition.

Mike Hawkins head of the Automotive team at the college that trains Automotive apprentices and full time students said “This was a super human effort by Tony and the team and we are all very proud of his outstanding achievement. It was a really tough competition and Tony’s talents and calmness really paid off.”

Mike Battrick from SATA said on presenting Tony with his prize, “We're delighted to be recognising Tony's achievements and this is another way that SATA supports the college. We provide equipment, training modules and personal support to students in training venues across the UK and we've been working closely with the college this year with the great paint spraying and body workshops at Marsh Barton.”

SkillAuto head of Professional Development at the Institute of the Motor Industry (IMI) said “Our congratulations go to all the gold medalists who competed in the SkillAuto panel and paint final. All the finalist have demonstrated the world class skill levels at which individuals now need to work at in the automotive sector, this reinforces their status as professional engineers and delivers long overdue status and respect.”