Barbados Community College (BCC) student Tonquanja Giddings took top honours at the Closing/Awards Ceremony of the fifth biennial WorldSkills Barbados (WSB) 2020 Competition, winning both the Gold Medal in Restaurant Service and the Best of Competition Award for the overall winner with her score of 92 per cent.

The Best of Competition winner is the highest scoring finalist with a combined score from the Competitors Developmental Programme (soft skills) and the skills competition (Test Project).

The WorldSkills Barbados 2020 Closing/Awards Ceremony took place last Tuesday, December 1st, at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre (LESC). The finals of the WSB 2020 Competition took place November 19 – 22.

Twenty-two students representing four local training institutions competed in six skill areas: Car Painting, Cooking, Fashion Technology, Graphic Design Technology, Hairdressing and Restaurant Service.

This year, the competition was held at [...]

From MotorTrend:  We know what it means. Or at least what it's supposed to mean. Yet the word excellence in today's hyperbolic lexicon has become the go-to endorsement of everything from resort timeshares to pharmaceutical marketing to pork industry remediation. Let's assume for the moment that the word has been somewhat diluted.

Climb into a 2021 Mercedes-Benz E-Class, however, and you will immediately understand the true emotional and physical definition of the word, its impact, and its inferred accountability. In sedan, coupe, or wagon form, the new E-Class is a stunning accomplishment. And it is the MotorTrend 2021 Car of the Year.

The Mercedes-Benz E-Class carries the stout imprimatur of old-school luxury, from the graining of the dashboard wood [...]

From StokeonTrentLive: Digger-giant JCB is marking a milestone 75 years in business on Friday, October 23 - the same day that the company's chairman Lord Bamford marks his 75th birthday.

The Rocester firm was founded by Lord Bamford's father, the late Joseph Cyril Bamford who was affectionately known as 'Mr JCB', in 1945.

And over the last seven-and-a-half decades, the company has grown from its humble beginnings at a tiny lock-up garage in Uttoxeter to a global manufacturing firm which boasts 22 plants around the world - 11 of which are based in the UK, employing around 7,000 staff.

This week, StokeonTrentLive sat down with Lord Bamford for an interview about the company's milestone birthday, where he reflected on the firm's 75 year history and revealed what the future holds for the firm.

What [...]

From HUB-4.com: A huge ‘75’ artwork visible from outer space was carved into a Staffordshire stubble field to mark JCB’s impending 75th birthday.

The giant logo was cultivated in a field eight miles away from the company’s World Headquarters at Rocester and covered almost eight acres – equivalent to four football pitches. The birthday tribute was so distinctive is could be seen by imaging satellites orbiting high above the earth.

The special artwork was created ahead of JCB’s 75th anniversary on October 23rd by one of the company’s most famous products – the Fastrac tractor, which was equipped with a hi-tech precision guidance system.

A team of JCB employees was behind the larger-than-life creation which was close to the market town of Uttoxeter, where the late Joseph Cyril Bamford founded JCB [...]

From Carscoops: At Subiefest 2020, which was held last weekend and is one of the largest annual gatherings of Subaru enthusiasts in the United States, the automaker set a new Guinness World Record.

What for? Well, for the largest parade of Subaru cars, with 1,751 vehicles driven by their owners, breaking the previous 2015 record, when 549 cars attended.

Instead of selling tickets, this year the company asked for a donation from each participant to Feeding America, with proceeds benefitting two local food banks, the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank and Second Harvest Orange County. The donations will provide 241,800 meals, and Subaru of America will match them, raising the number to 500,000.

From Robb Report: Mercedes-Benz just proved truth is stranger than fiction. The German marque has released actual driving footage of its Avatar-inspired electric vehicle and it’s even more insane than the initial renderings.

The Vision AVTR concept was unveiled at CES earlier this year, but most assumed the fantastical four-wheeler would never see the light of day. Roughly nine months on, the automaker has showcased a working prototype in a 13 minute YouTube video—and it’s futuristic, to say the very least.

Designed in partnership with Avatar creator James Cameron, the Vision AVTR utilizes biometric controls to help the driver and vehicle merge into a “symbiotic organism.” Kind of like how the Na’vi merge with the flying mountain banshees in the 2009 sci-fi epic. But instead of forming a neural connection with the Vision AVTR, drivers will control it through a pulsating sensor in the center console.