A number of students from Northern Ireland’s six Further Education Colleges hace been triumphant at the recent WorldSkills finals held across the UK.
63 students competed in the competitions from across the local Further Education sector, with 26 medals achieved and nine taking home gold including:
- Marija Juzaite, South Eastern Regional College for Confectionery and Patisserie
- Georgia Abernethy, Belfast Metropolitan College for Culinary Arts
- Alexander Wallace, South Eastern Regional College for Fire Detection and Alarm Systems
- Isaac Bingham, Southern Regional College for Furniture and Cabinet Making
- Victoria Sloan, Southern Regional College for Health and Social Care
- Ewan McGrath, Belfast Metropolitan College for Industrial Electronics
- Charlie Carson and Jason Scott, Northern Regional College for Industrial Robotics
- Rory Deehan King, North West Regional College for Laboratory Technician
- Conor Nugent, Southern Regional College for Wall and Floor Tiling
Northern Ireland’s six Further Education Colleges were placed in the top four regions of the UK with three Colleges, Southern Regional College, Belfast Metropolitan College and South Eastern Regional College, placed in the top 10 best performing Colleges.
The annual WorldSkills UK competition provides opportunities for individual students to test their knowledge and skills against the very best across the UK.
Louise Warde Hunter, Chair of the six Further Education Colleges Principal’s Group said:
“We are incredibly proud of all our students who travelled and competed in the WorldSkills UK Competitions. Their passion and dedication towards their chosen course is a great reflection on the abilities of students in further education across Northern Ireland and we were thrilled to see that displayed on a national stage.
“The WorldSkills UK competitions are an unparalleled occasion for our students to learn new, innovative ways of carrying out their skilled work while also showcasing their own talents on a UK-wide platform. This gives terrific confidence and opportunities for our students, many of whom use their WorldSkills UK experiences when moving onto university or into employment.
“I would like to commend all who took part and offer our heartfelt congratulations to all winning participants. We look forward to cheering them on as they progress to the international WorldSkills competitions in 2023.”
Ben Blackledge, Deputy Chief Executive of World Skills UK said:
“Congratulations to our winners on their medial success in their respective competitions. We hope that their success will inspire more people to consider an apprenticeship and technical training course as a route to great career success. Using insights gained from our competition-based programmes, we work with our partners to raise standards in training, helping to drive economic growth across the UK.”