WorldSkills UK Finals Inspire Young Wiganers 

We proudly hosted seven prestigious WorldSkills UK National Finals this week, showcasing the incredible talent and dedication of the nation’s top young professionals. 

This is the second year in which WorldSkills UK has come to Greater Manchester to stage the finals, which bring together the most talented students and apprentices from across the UK to battle it for gold. 

Using international best practice, the organisation aims to raise the standards in apprenticeships and technical education so more young people and employers succeed. 

The competitions also provided the opportunity for partner high schools to bring groups of pupils along to witness the finals taking place and to speak to industry experts about using technical skills within industry, linking to career pathways.   

Anna Dawe said: “The positive impact of WorldSkills UK reaches beyond the competitors – it also inspires future technical skills cohorts and provides a visual example that if you can see it, you can be it!” 

The finals certainly created an exciting buzz around the Pagefield campus which was added to when the Welsh Minister for Culture, Skills and Social Partnership, Jack Sargeant made an appearance at the college’s Centre of Excellence in Engineering & Construction.  
 
The Minister, along with members of the Welsh Government, visited to learn more about the work of WorldSkills UK as they look forward to 2025, when South Wales will be hosting the UK National Finals.  
 
He was also joined by representatives from Inspiring Skills Excellence in Wales for a tour of the Pagefield Campus to see the finals taking place and to meet some Skills Champions including Anastasiya Kovtun who was a WorldSkills UK finalist in 2022 and was also selected for Squad UK in 2023.   

The state-of-the-art facilities were the perfect backdrop to stage finals in Aircraft Maintenance, Electronic Security Systems, Fire Detection and Alarm Systems, Industrial Electronics and Metal Fabricator.  

While the IT Support Technician and Network Infrastructure Technician finals were housed in the Centre for Advanced Technical Studies which is also home to the college’s Digital Academy.