WorldSkills Champions Trust representative Dan McCabe shows Champions how they can use their voice

Dan believes that maintaining a healthy mind is as important as developing technical skills. He struggled with depression and anxiety, and now uses his role as a WorldSkills Champions Trust representative to promote positive mental health. By exploring the issue, he is also helping find new ways to support young people, like him, during training and competitions.

During competitions, Dan sought help from his family, friends, and a counsellor and it helped him learn how to prioritize his mental health. He says, “There were days when the pressure felt overwhelming, and I doubted my abilities. By acknowledging my mental health struggles and working through them, it made me stronger and more resilient.”

Dan competed in 3D Digital Art at the WorldSkills UK nationals, making it through to EuroSkills Gothenburg 2016 and WorldSkills Abu Dhabi 2017. He has been a WorldSkills Champions Trust representative for Europe for two seasons now, first from 2020 to 2022, and again from 2023 to 2024.

As part of the WorldSkills Champions Trust, Dan has worked hard to advocate for mental health across the WorldSkills community. He uses his platform to emphasize the importance of looking after your mental health throughout your skills journey. He regularly speaks about his own experiences saying, “Mental health is as crucial as physical training. Taking care of your mind ensures you can perform at your best.”

In addition to advocating for mental health, Dan has been mentoring young people getting into Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET). In 2023, Dan helped coach Competitors at EuroSkills Gdansk 2023, where he advised, “If you only focus on winning, I am afraid you may miss the point of this whole event. We are promoting excellence, your excellence. We are showing that skills keep our world moving and you, you are the people with those skills.”

Dan encourages anyone thinking of joining the next WorldSkills Champions Trust to see it as a rare opportunity to promote a cause that they care about. He says, “I am in a very privileged position as part of the WorldSkills Champions Trust to be able to discuss the importance of mental strength and hopefully inspire others around the world to seek support when needed.”

Applications are currently open for the next cohort of WorldSkills Champions Trust representatives for 2025 to 2026, and in the run-up to WorldSkills Shanghai 2026. Like Dan, the new representatives will have a chance to travel the world, contribute to thought leadership panels, speak at events, and create inspiring content so that more people value the power of skills.

If you want to advocate for an issue you feel passionate about, then apply now. Find out more about the process, including eligibility criteria and deadlines.