Irish team of apprentices to take on the world in quest for gold medals

An Irish team jets off this weekend in the hope of bringing back the first gold medals from Brazil.

A year ahead of the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, the 14 young apprentices will be aiming to better the two golds and a bronze brought home from the last WorldSkills Competition in Germany in 2013.

The event begins in Sao Paulo next Monday but preparations have been going on for over six months since many of the Irish competitors emerged from the national skills finals at Cork Institute of Technology last December.