Embedding WorldSkills UK Competitions into the day-to-day syllabus is vital for Nicola and her students.
Aligning Competition standards to students’ courses helps them develop their skills to a world-class level, without adding unrealistic pressure.
“My Hospitality and Catering students really benefit from bringing WorldSkills UK Competitions into the classroom,” she explains. “The Competition specification is very well aligned to the qualification standard, so adding elements from the Competition supports what they’re learning day-to-day.”
Beginning with Level 1 students, Nicola introduces Competition activity early on in the course to add an element of fun to the experience. From Level 1 to 3, learners benefit from the chance to learn new high-level skills and challenge themselves.
This includes putting on in-classroom Competitions using the WorldSkills UK National Competition brief – from cocktails to fine dining service – to help learners get a taste of where their skills could take them.
“We can tell that WorldSkills UK Competitions were designed with our industry in mind,” Nicola says. “I can choose modules that align with what I’m teaching so that students get extra information but without adding too much to their workload.”
International success
As well as taking part in WorldSkills UK National Competitions, Nicola’s students have also benefited from International Competition training. Collette Gorvett, former Hospitality and Catering student at Gower College, represented the UK in Restaurant Services at two WorldSkills International Competitions – EuroSkills Budapest 2018 and WorldSkills Kazan 2019.
“It was incredible to see Collette do so well at such a high level of Competition,” says Nicola. “We dedicated extra time to help her train for these fantastic opportunities and helped create a training timetable that worked around her studies and work commitments. Not only did Collette benefit from world-class training and international experience – she’s now helping me train the next generation to make sure as many young people as possible benefit from Skills Competitions.”
Benefitting the whole college
It’s not just Hospitality and Catering students that benefit from WorldSkills UK Competitions. Gower College also enters students into a number of different Competitions. The Team UK Training Manager for Electronics, Steven Williams, is also based at the college.
“Being involved in WorldSkills UK Competitions helps Gower College to raise its profile and show that we are dedicated to getting the best out of our students,” concludes Nicola. “Success in Competitions helps parents and perspective students to see that learners can achieve fantastic things through vocational education.”
