Squad & Team Selection Roadmap
Purpose
Section titled “Purpose”Squad selection identifies candidates for international representation. This roadmap focuses on advanced techniques, edge cases, and competition under extreme time pressure.
Focus: Mastery + speed + adaptability. Demonstrate expert-level skills with minimal friction.
Time commitment: 12-18 months of intensive practice + squad training programme.
How This Stage Runs in the UK
Section titled “How This Stage Runs in the UK”The national final is part of selection for Team UK (Technical Handbook 2026). WorldSkills UK’s training managers watch age-eligible finalists and invite the strongest to train in the squad (Meet Squad UK). Squad training and team selection then decide who represents Team UK at EuroSkills or the WorldSkills Competition. Competitors who aren’t eligible can stay involved through the Champions Programme.
Selection events and their formats change between cycles, so check the current brief with your training manager.
Squad Selection Expectations
Section titled “Squad Selection Expectations”At this level, you are expected to:
- Handle complex, multi-stage attack chains across multiple systems
- Exploit edge cases and non-standard configurations
- Perform manual exploitation faster than automated tools
- Produce professional-grade documentation in minimal time
Key differentiators from nationals:
- Zero hand-holding - interpret vague requirements
- Handle intentional misdirection and red herrings efficiently
- Execute under extreme time pressure (30% faster than nationals pace)
- Demonstrate deep understanding, not just tool execution
Advanced Topics (Beyond National)
Section titled “Advanced Topics (Beyond National)”This roadmap assumes mastery of all national-level content. Focus on:
- Blind SQL injection (time-based, boolean)
- Kerberoasting and AD trust exploitation
- Advanced memory forensics (rootkit detection)
- WAF bypass techniques
- SIEM rule tuning to reduce false positives
Competency Checklist
Section titled “Competency Checklist”- Complete all international-level practice tasks in allocated time
- Identify and avoid red herrings within 5 minutes
- Manual exploitation without referencing notes or cheat sheets
- Write incident reports in under 15 minutes
- Adapt to unknown tools/environments rapidly
Next Steps
Section titled “Next Steps”- Participate in squad training programme
- Prepare for: International Finals Roadmap
Unofficial study guide, not endorsed by WorldSkills International or WorldSkills UK. Topics are example areas to prepare for, not the content of any test project: competition tasks are confidential, competitions are closed book, and formats change between competitions. More about this site.