Seven students and apprentices from South Eastern Regional College (SERC) are set to compete in the national WorldSkillsUK Finals, 14 -18 November in competitions hosted in Northern Ireland, England and Scotland.
Recognised as the ‘Olympics for Skills’, the students will pit their specialist area knowledge and skills against the clock and their peers from across the UK.
Representing SERC and Northern Ireland, Eimear McCarthy (Portaferry), Marija Kuzaite (Coalisland) and Zara Shiels (originally Limavady now settled in Lisburn) will be competing in Confectionery & Patisserie in Belfast; Apprentices Alexander Wallace (Saintfield) employed by BPS and Jonny Hamilton (Bangor) employed by Atlas World are heading to Dagenham for Fire Systems and Security; Level 3 Carpentry and Joinery apprentice David Fairley (Dromore) employed by Heaney Interiors will be competing in Edinburgh in Joinery, and Level 3 Plumbing apprentice Andrew Reain (Dromara) employed by Vincent Cunningham Contractors will compete in Middlesborough in the Plumbing competition.
Ken Webb, Principal and Chief Executive SERC said, “We are delighted to have seven students reach the WorldSkillsUK Finals. Our colleagues in WorldSkillsUK reported that Northern Ireland had the highest number of finalists to date, with 63 competitors in 26 skill areas from the 6 FE Colleges as well as Riverpark Training, CAFRE and Errigal. SERC students made up 11% of the finalists with 7 students and apprentices from 4 subject areas representing the College and Northern Ireland in this prestigious competition.
He added, “College, intercampus and intercollege competitions often lead to national competitions such as WorldSkillsUK. Specialist mentoring and masterclasses helps build the confidence, knowledge and skills of those taking part as they strive to be the best.
“We are immensely proud of these young people for everything they have achieved through commitment and determination and wish them the very best for the competitions next week.”
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