The Trafford College Group, with five campuses across Greater Manchester, has topped the medal charts for England at the WorldSkills UK National Finals. The competition celebrates the best in young talent from across the United Kingdom in disciplines ranging from engineering, digital and manufacturing through to the creative industries, business, health, and hospitality.
This year Greater Manchester based colleges, universities and training providers hosted the finals which culminated in two days of intense competition following six months of local and regional qualifiers. The medal finalists were invited to Manchester’s Bridgewater Hall on Friday evening to discover who finished as the best of the best from across the country.
With four medal winners in the disciplines of Plumbing (Gold medal), Nail Technician (Silver medal), IT Support Technician (Silver medal) and Foundation Skills Motor Vehicle (Bronze medal), The Trafford College Group topped the medal charts for English colleges. The medallists for IT Support Technician and Plumbing are both currently following an Apprenticeship programme and were supported by their employers, Essity UK Ltd and Meel Group.
The Minister for Skills, Apprenticeships and Higher Education Robert Halfon said, “I would like to congratulate all the competitors in the UK WorldSkills final. They are all winners in my eyes for choosing a pathway that will build their skills and career potential, allowing them to climb the skills ladder of opportunity.”
More than 6,000 young people registered to take part in this year’s competition and as well as medal success The Trafford College Group also entered the most registrants for the second year running.
James Scott, Principal and CEO of The Trafford College Group said, “Our continued success in encouraging and supporting so many students to engage in WorldSkills UK competitions and these fantastic results at the National Finals, underlines our commitment to developing the ambitions and technical skills of our students as preparation for their future careers.
“With medal winners from our Trafford College and Stockport College campuses we are proud to see this commitment being realised across several disciplines, as our aim to embed the ethos and benefits of skills competitions within technical education goes from strength to strength.”
Trafford College which was the host college for the competition’s launch event last week shared its success with nine other Greater Manchester based colleges who also saw medal winners achieve across categories including Commercial Make-Up, Confectionary, Fire Detection and Mechatronics.
