NPTC Group of Colleges was once again chosen to host the prestigious Inspiring Skills Awards 2023.
NPTC Group of Colleges was one of the satellite centres selected to host the awards which were presented by Mari Lovegreen and Ameer Davies-Rana. The hybrid awards ceremony was held virtually, with six satellite events taking place at Welsh providers, so that friends and families from all over Wales could watch.
What made the event even better was the haul for medals on the night with the College winning Four gold medals, five silver and three bronze.
Forensic Science had an impressive return to the Skills Competition with medals in all competitions. Morgan Davies took the Gold medal in the Laboratory Technician competition and Archie Phillips took the Silver then Robyn Hassini achieved bronze in the Forensic Science Competition.
It was a good night for Motor Vehicle Refinishing and Body Repair department with Victoria Steele winning a Silver for Vehicle Refinishing and Jordan Lingham winning another Silver in the Vehicle Body Repair competition.
There were also medals won in Coding with Leon Cook walking away with a Gold Medal, in Web Design with Emma Harris taking silver and the top two spaces of the Inclusive Skills: IT Software Solution for Business were taken by Will Turner with Gold and Kornchanut Uttamamoon winning Silver.
Joshua Miles won a silver medal for the Inclusive Skills: Horticulture competition and for the second consecutive year the College has won a gold medal in the plastering competition, with Kieran-Lee Phillips taking the top spot.
The competitions challenge competitors across five different sectors to be named best in their skill, these are Construction & Infrastructure, Engineering & Technology, Health, Hospitality & Lifestyle, IT & Enterprise and Media & Creative.
In total, 1096 young people competed over the past three months, with 101 gold, 104 silver and 88 bronze medals awarded in total.
Subject to another round of applications, the finalists could now go on to compete in the national and international competitions at WorldSkills UK, EuroSkills and WorldSkills international.
Skills Competition Wales through Inspiring Skills aims to raise the profile of skills in Wales and offers students, trainees and apprentices in Wales a chance to challenge, benchmark and raise their skills by taking part in a series of local vocational skills competitions across a range of sectors.
The Inspiring Skills Awards offers individuals and organisations the chance to be recognised and rewarded for their commitment, hard work and achievements in the Welsh Government-funded Skills Competition Wales.
Principal and CEO of NPTC Group of Colleges Mark Dacey was proud to be chosen as a hosting centre, he said:
”I am so honoured that NPTC Group of Colleges was chosen to be the satellite host and to be able to hear the fantastic successes and results of all the competitors, despite, yet another challenging year. This evening wouldn’t be possible without the hard work and determination of each student who chose to compete, but also the College staff who spent many hours on top of their normal teaching hours mentoring and training our competitors ready for the competitions.”
Edward Jones, Skills Champion for NPTC Group of Colleges, said: “The fact that so many of our students have won medals speaks volumes about not only the commitment these students show to their trades but also about the quality of the teaching and training that takes place at the College. We consistently do well at competitions in all disciplines, but to see such a diverse range of skills coming through shows that students in all areas are trained to the very highest standards right across all our College sites.
I’m very proud of all the winners, and I’m excited to see how many of these students go on to take part in WorldSkills.”
Minister of Economy, Vaughan Gething stated: “Skills Competition Wales is an excellent platform for young people to challenge themselves and put their skills to the test.
“Having supported and attended several of the competitions in the past, I have seen first-hand the amazing talent Wales has to offer. I was particularly impressed by the enthusiasm of the participants. Their passion for their craft was evident as they put their best foot forward and competed for top honours.
“It is inspiring to witness young people take pride in what they do and strive to be the very best versions of themselves. Programmes like Skills Competition Wales help to promote a culture of growth and excellence at every level.
