Jack Sargeant MS, Minister for Culture, Skills and Social Partnership
In November (26-28) Wales proudly hosted the WorldSkills UK National Finals bringing together competitors from across England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales, highlighting and celebrating development and delivery of skills excellence.
Skills competitions enable us to benchmark ourselves across key sectors at a national and international level and raise the bar for skills training in Wales, which in turn strengthens the Welsh economy.
This year, the National Finals competition took place across 5 venues in south Wales:
• University of South Wales, City Centre Campus
• Cardiff and Vale College, Dumballs Road
• University of Wales Trinity Saint David, IQ Campus, Swansea
• Bridgend College, Pencoed Campus
• Coleg Gwent, Newport Campus
I visited Cardiff and Vale College during the week and it was fantastic to see the standard of competition. Not only did the venues put on a warm, Welsh welcome to the competitors, their trainers and their families, but they showcased the excellent facilities available to support delivery of the competitions. Over 400 competitors from across the UK took part in a series of 40 different skills-based competitions including welding, landscape gardening and aircraft maintenance.
Of those competitors, 122 were from Wales and they did themselves and their country proud. Between them, Welsh competitors won a total of 78 medals (18 Gold, 20 Silver, 25 Bronze,15 Highly Commended). Consequently, these achievements resulted in our colleges being ranked first in the Mainstream and Foundation competitions.
These fantastic achievements, on home soil, highlight the hard work, dedication and talent that Wales has to offer in arming young people with the skills and expertise to thrive on the world stage. It also highlights the value and importance of vocational pathways.
I would like to express my thanks to WorldSkills UK, the Inspiring Skills Excellence in Wales programme, Further Education and Higher Education providers, Independent Training Providers, Colegau Cymru, Universities Wales, Business in the Community, National Training Federation Wales, Medr and all the young people and the training managers who contributed towards such a fantastic event.