An incredible 41 Pembrokeshire College students made it through to this year’s Skills Competition Wales finals with 20 securing medals – making them some of the country’s best young trainees in their chosen disciplines.
With 61 competitions, across five industry sectors, Skills Competition Wales aims to inspire and upskill future generations by developing young people’s vocational skills while celebrating their achievements.
This year over 1,100 learners from colleges, universities and private training providers took part in the competitions, with 41 students from Pembrokeshire College making it through to the finals across a broad range of curriculum areas from culinary arts to horticulture, childcare and media production.
In a virtual awards ceremony hosted by Inspiring Skills Excellence in Wales, 20 Pembrokeshire College students were announced as medal winners securing five gold, eight silver and seven bronze medals. Medal winners and finalists were then invited to an awards presentation hosted by the College last week to receive their medals and certificates from PLANED CEO and Pembrokeshire College Chairman, Iwan Thomas.
During the awards presentation, the College Corporation Board Chairman Iwan Thomas, alongside Principal Dr Barry Walters, congratulated the learners on their achievements noting that their medal haul places the College fifth in the medal league table which is a huge achievement for the learners, the lecturers and the College as a whole. Dr Walters also told the inspiring story of former learners Sam Everton and Chris Caine who recently competed in the WorldSkills international finals winning Medallions of Excellence.
Before calling the finalists up onto stage, Dr Walters commented: “It is a huge pleasure to be able to celebrate your incredible achievements in front of your family and friends. Your achievements place you amongst the most talented young people in Wales and give you a unique platform on which to continue to grow and develop your skills even further. We now look forward to some of you following in the footsteps and Sam and Chris and competing nationally and indeed, internationally.”
Subject to another round of applications, the finalists could now go on to compete in the national and international competitions at WorldSkills UK, EuroSkills and WorldSkills international.
Speaking at the virtual awards evening, Minister of Economy, Vaughan Gething stated: “Young people in Wales hold the key to this country’s future success so it is great to see initiatives such as Skills Competition Wales and the Inspiring Skills project celebrate and showcase young talent.
“Skills Competition Wales helps to equip young people with the experience and skills they need for personal and professional development. It offers individuals the opportunity to build up their confidence and employability skills while allowing employers to teach job-specific skills.
“It’s vital we invest in our future generations and continue to provide opportunities such as Skills Competition Wales so that there is a platform for young people to showcase their abilities. Skills competitions provide a platform for people to progress and develop into highly skilled workers, therefore feedbacking back into the economy.”
