Coleg Gwent learners win at WorldSkills UK

It’s been another fantastic year of WorldSkills UK competitions and results for Team Wales, with Coleg Gwent learners winning Gold, Silver and Highly Commended across a range of skills competitions. 

The finals of WorldSkills UK competitions 2023 took place throughout November, with students and apprentices from across the country competing in a range of skills-based disciplines from creative make-up to catering, and media production to hairdressing.   

Over 400 competitors from across the UK battled to be crowned ‘skills champion’ in their specialist areas, with a total of 11 learners from Coleg Gwent reaching the finals. The learners demonstrated their skills and knowledge in competitions up and down the country, with the finals taking place in Manchester. 

Our skills champions 

The medalists were announced at a glittering awards ceremony on Friday 17 November at Bridgewater Hall and we’re proud to announce that our learners won a total of four medals, reaffirming Coleg Gwent’s position in the top ten colleges across the UK for skills training finishing a very impressive 4th overall.  

Theresa Hayes, Level 3 Hairdressing learner is competing in the hairdressing competition and said: “It’s really exciting to be competing in this competition. I’ve been working really hard training and I’m looking forward to competing and getting good experience that will hopefully give me opportunities in the future. If you have the opportunity to get involved, I would say definitely do it!” 

Tierney Parker, Commercial Make-up competitor said: “I’ve found this final brief a lot more complicated than the first two heats, and it took me a while to finalise my idea, but now that’s sorted I’m looking forward to seeing my vision come to life. My advice to anyone competing next year would be to go as big as you can, and most of all just have fun! 

Richard Wheeler, Skills Competition Manager said: “It’s great to see yet again Coleg Gwent has representation at the WSUK national finals. In my eyes all these national finalists are already winners, so to put themselves out there and compete against the best in the UK in their given skill not only takes courage but also a lot of motivation, dedication and interpersonal skills such as time management, problem solving, coping with pressure etc. All these skills learnt are not just for competition but are life skills which will help prepare our learners for the world of work and will be with them for many years to come. 

Congratulations to all our medalists and well done to all our finalists from Coleg Gwent. 

Gold winner: 

• Lydia Beavis – Creative Media Make-up 

Silver winners:  

• Laura James – Creative Media Make-up  
• Teresa Hayes – Hairdressing 

 Highly commended:  

• Logan Cook – 3D Game Art 

Skills Competition Wales 

Interested in taking part in the next WorldSkills UK competitions?  

Closely aligned to WorldSkills UK, Skills Competition Wales kicks off at the start of 2024, offering learners the chance to compete in skills-based competitions across a range of sectors in Wales. The competitions are free to enter and usually run between January and February, feeding into the next WorldSkills UK competitions. Find out more about taking part or register for Skills Competition Wales 2024 now and put your skills to the test.