WorldSkills UK Wales

Competition seeks creative designers to furnish Edge Hotel School

Edge, in conjunction with WorldSkills UK, WorldSkills Alumni and City & Guilds have launched a competition to engage creative designers! The aim is to develop a number of artefacts suitable for use within Wivenhoe House, the home of the Edge Hotel School; the artefacts must celebrate innovative and creative design whilst also being practical and durable.

 
Wivenhoe House is an elegant 18th Century Grade II listed building which is undergoing a major multi-million-pound ‘make-over’ to restore it to its former grandeur as a country house of significance. Within this extraordinary setting, the Edge Hotel School is dedicated to delivering ‘hospitality with an edge’; combining theory and practice in a new way to provide a high quality guest experience.

This fantastic competition is open to anyone who has entered past or present WorldSkills UK competitions or for competitors who have represented the UK in the international WorldSkills competition and who are under the age of 28 by 15 July 2011. The competition is divided into five competition categories:

1. A ‘partners’ type desk situated in the entrance lobby of the hotel
2. A ‘conversation’ communal table to seat 16 for the brasserie
3. A garden bench to seat 4 people situated within the hotel grounds
4. A feature light fitting to hang over the grand staircase of the hotel
5. A free standing display / storage centre piece for the brasserie.

The winning designers in each competition category will not only receive a cash prize of £1,000 and see their design manufactured for use in Wivenhoe House, but will also have the opportunity to become a ‘Designer in Residence’. This will include the opportunity to showcase their work, sell or take commissions for private work and provide workshops / demonstrations / master classes for hotel guests for up to 4 x 2 day periods in a calendar year, commencing September 2012!

Full competition details are available via the Edge website. The closing date for entries is 15 July 2011. 

Help raise the profile of vocational skills, WorldSkills and skills competitions in Wales

It all adds up to success!

36 competitors, 12 teams, 7 colleges, 2 judges plus a good number of guests = a successful WorldSkills UK accountancy heat!

On 29 March, Gower College Swansea hosted the first of a number of WorldSkills UK accountancy heats that are taking place across the UK for this 2010/11 round. The venue? The impressive Sketty Hall in Swansea.

The first part of the day saw the competitors undertake a tough three-hour test in their teams as part of the WorldSkills UK competition. Each team was required to prove their technical knowledge and abilities in a variety of accounting skills such as processing sales and purchase invoices and petty cash transactions; whilst also being tested on their teamwork, communication and planning skills and their professional and ethical conduct. Whew! It was a tough three hours, but all teams survived and completed their tasks within the time allocation.

Catering students from Gower College Swansea prepared and hosted the lunch, providing much needed tempting treats for weary competitors and a number of not-so-weary guests. Refreshed teams and watching guests then spent the afternoon on a more light-hearted note with a ‘mastermind’ accountancy competition. Stephen Harrison, former Regional Chairman of PricewaterhouseCoopers, did a splendid job as ‘Question Master’ and kept all teams, (who had not lost their competitive spirit), in check with their buzzers, bells and whistles!

Well done to all involved in creating this event! The results of the WorldSkills UK accountancy heat are currently being verified so we will announce the winners shortly. In the meantime, take a look at the photos of the day on our flickr gallery.

Help raise the profile of vocational skills, WorldSkills and skills competitions in Wales

Top mechanics looking to progress to UK finals

Congratulations to Simon Davies, Gareth Morgan and Benjamin Morgan who took the top three places, respectively, in the recent SkillAuto competitions held at Coleg Glan Hafren.

 

The competition is growing from strength-to-strength with a record number of entries totalling almost 1,000 across the UK this year. These three lads will be hoping to join the best-of-the-best in the SkillAuto UK finals later this year, where competitors will have a chance of becoming part of the UK squad that will compete at WorldSkills Leipzig in 2013.

Coleg Glan Hafren’s Automotive Academy, which played host to this Welsh heat, is one of only eight Ford Apprenticeship Centres in the UK. The college offers over 30 automotive courses to over 600 students in total, so was particularly well equipped to stage this prestigious competition. We were also pleased to support this competition as part of our skillscompetition Wales programme.

We have some great photos of the competition on our flickr gallery and you can also view further video coverage posted on Coleg Glan Hafren’s YouTube channel.

Help raise the profile of vocational skills, WorldSkills and skills competitions in Wales

WorldSkills UK Showcase Day

Did you go along to Coleg Llandrillo Cymru on 28 February for their WorldSkills UK showcase day? It was a fantastic event that attracted hundreds of visitors, all of whom were keen to sample the ‘have a go’ activities and find out more about WorldSkills UK competitions.

Powys, Deeside and Yale colleges teamed-up with Coleg Llandrillo to run a number of the ‘have a go’ sessions, including hospitality skills, funky button-holes, floristry, hairdressing and beauty.

Take a look at our flickr gallery to see some great pictures of the event! 

Help raise the profile of vocational skills, WorldSkills and skills competitions in Wales

Enter a WorldSkills UK competition now!

Have you registered yet for this year’s round of WorldSkills UK competitions?

If not, you need to hurry – entries close on 24 March 2011.

Find out more about the competitions via our website www.worldskillsuk.org/wales

Enter now!

 

Help raise the profile of vocational skills, WorldSkills and skills competitions in Wales