By Rhian Ramsden, Quality and Innovation Lead, Wiltshire College and University Centre of Excellence
Before the Lyon Exchange visit, Wiltshire College and University Centre had been part of the Centre of Excellence for some years and had benefited from high-quality training and staff development. However, despite this engagement, we had not entered learners into WorldSkills UK’s competitions. Indeed, before this visit, I had never been part of a skills competition in education, so this visit was extremely eye-opening for me.
The visit to the skills competition was incredibly important in widening my understanding of skills competitions. For example, I wasn’t aware that the competitions were international, so this was new to me. I was amazed at the huge number of areas of competition, and it took us nearly two days to walk around and see all the competitors working hard at their stations. I was aware of competitions in areas such as professional cookery, bricklaying, and hairdressing, but I was astonished to see a helicopter and a heavy goods vehicle being used in the engineering skills competition. I particularly enjoyed revisiting areas to see the progress the competitors had made over the two days. The landscaping was a phenomenal feat, and we returned several times each day to watch the gardens come to fruition.
Aside from the spectacular competitions, I was fortunate enough, with my colleagues, to meet with our French counterparts to exchange ideas and successes around competition and skill-building in vocational education. Much valuable knowledge was exchanged, but for me, the most useful and intriguing conversation came from our French colleague who discussed how they had embedded sustainability into their skills competitions. For example, they outlined how meat from a butchery competition was donated to avoid food waste and how single-use plastics can be reduced or removed from events. I feel very strongly about sustainability and fully appreciate our responsibilities towards the Sustainable Development Goals.
The exchange visit opened my eyes to the importance of skills competitions for our FE and HE learners, and I am determined to turn my excitement into opportunities for them to compete. I have already engaged with a number of curriculum leads in our college to ignite, and in some cases reignite, the passion for competitive skills. I am, however, mindful that these competitions require more than just passion and drive. Meeting my French colleagues and talking to competition staff in Lyon brought home the complexities and difficulties of getting staff and learners ready for competition. There is an incredible amount of hard work involved before getting to competition, including building the confidence and self-belief of our learners.
After seeing the excellence on show in Lyon, I want to increase our competition offering to improve our learners’ experience at college, but also to strengthen their skills for employment. Skills competitions can significantly benefit learners by enhancing their workplace readiness in several key areas. Firstly, participating in these competitions can boost learners’ confidence as they gain recognition for their abilities and achievements, which translates into a more assertive and proactive approach in professional settings. Secondly, the high-pressure environment helps learners develop resilience and effective stress management techniques – crucial for the workplaces our vocational learners move into. Lastly, the competitive nature of these events prepares learners for the realities of the job market. They learn to navigate competition, set themselves apart, and continuously improve their skills to stay ahead. It was obvious to us in Lyon that the competitors had worked incredibly hard to build such resilience and strength to get to the final, and that they would use these skills to great advantage in their working lives.
