Cardiff and Vale College students have won a magnificent 36 medals at Skills Competition Wales – more than the College has ever won before and more than any individual Welsh college.
CAVC learners, including apprentices, won a record 36 medals – seven gold, 15 silver and 14 bronze. More students participated in the competition across a range of disciplines than ever before.
The total included first-time medals in a range of competitions – Health and Social Care, Inclusive Live Skills and Renewable Energy. CAVC students won gold in Vehicle Refinishing, Vehicle Body Repair, Inclusive Skills Health and Social Care, Inclusive Life Skills, Inclusive Hairdressing, and Hairdressing.
The Inclusive Skills contest for learners with additional learning needs also saw winners – CAVC entered every category apart from Carpentry and saw 13 students bring home medals. In Inclusive Skills Hairdressing, learners Casey West, Tineyah Ward and Cerys Bowen won gold, silver and bronze respectively.
Many of the winners will now go on to compete in the WorldSkills UK Finals, and could stand a chance of representing the UK at the International WorldSkills Finals in Lyon next year.
Asrar Alsharif is on a Level 3 Hairdressing course with the College. The 18-year-old from Cardiff won a gold medal in Hairdressing.
“When I heard my name read out at the awards ceremony I was shocked and surprised because everyone’s work was phenomenal,” Asrar said. “I’m super proud of myself and thankful to everyone who supported me and believed in me.”
Asrar feels that taking part in skills contest such as Skills Competition Wales and WorldSkills provides a valuable addition to her CAVC course.
“I feel more confident in my work now,” Asrar explained. “I would recommend taking part in skills contests because I feel everyone can benefit from it like I did.”
Cardiff and Vale College Group Chief Executive and Welsh WorldSkills UK Delegate Mike James said: “Congratulations to all of our students on another year of excellent results. CAVC is a firm believer in the importance of skills competitions and the role they play in developing strong skills sets and creating a source of future talent who will add instant value to any employer.
“It is my goal to get as many Welsh members of Team UK as possible in WorldSkills Lyon 2024 and the wide range of talent seen across Skills Competition Wales is hugely promising. Well done to everybody, staff and students, who have taken part.”