School and college students from institutions around Wales met at the University of South Wales’ (USW) Newport Campus for the Skills Competition Wales event – a series of competitions in the digital, business and creative sphere.
Skills Competition Wales is a Welsh Government funded initiative, coordinated by the Inspiring Skills Excellence in Wales project. It offers students, trainees and apprentices in Wales a chance to challenge, benchmark and raise their skills. The competition is a precursor to a wider initiative, the Skills Olympics, an international competition.
During the event, over 120 pupils from further education institutions in Wales took part in activities and challenges in a range of areas such as accountancy, enterprise, IT, coding, cyber security, web development, and media. These were supported by partners of Skills Competition Wales, including charity Cyber Women Groups. Sophie, one of the co-founders and directors of Cyber Women Groups said:
“We were delighted to support the competition by providing an interactive ‘Capture the Flag’ challenge for students to learn, engage, and test their cyber knowledge. Inspiring the next generation of cyber experts is at the heart of our organisation, fostering an inclusive community students can be a part of.”
Paul Evans, Project Director at the Inspiring Skills Wales project said: “Experiences like this play a pivotal role in preparing students for the workforce. They allow young people to apply their learning in real-world situations, whether it’s coding, accountancy, or media.
“By holding the event at USW, we were able to offer participants access to state-of-the-art resources, ensuring a meaningful experience that enhances both their technical and soft skills.
“It’s incredibly rewarding to see students challenge themselves in areas like cyber security and business solutions, which are essential to the future of our economy.”
USW’s Head of Cyber Security and Director of Academic Centre of Excellence in Cyber Security, Sharan Johnstone said: “The Cyber Security and Academic Centre of Excellence teams at USW are delighted to facilitate this event, to show our support and enthusiasm in empowering the next generation of digital learners in Wales.”
As a Welsh Government-funded initiative, Peredur Owen Griffiths MS for South Wales East attended the event. He said: “The kind of vocational skills fostered in competitions like this are vital to the development of the economy in Wales.
“It encourages the talent that will be key to equipping our country with the necessary skills as well as creating employment opportunities.
“As an engineering graduate, I appreciate and admire the workforce development and talent that emerges from Skills Competitions Wales.”
Peredur added: “Wales has a proud tradition of innovation and industry. I hope the competitors at this year’s Skills Competitions Wales will become the ones that take Wales to the next level when it comes to economic development and prosperity which is something that Plaid Cymru has a laser-like focus on.”
