National Training Federation for Wales strategic director Lisa Mytton has congratulated more than 600 talented young people for their outstanding performance at this year’s Skills Competition Wales awards.
Judges awarded 96 gold, 92 silver and 97 bronze medals in the competitions which took place during February, with a record-breaking 1,168 competitors taking part across 65 disciplines.
The largest programme ever delivered by Skills Competition Wales included competitions ranging from culinary arts and web development to aeronautical engineering and renewable energy.
A record 30 learners from Wales’ independent training providers competed, earning medals and highly commended awards across 12 competitions.
The providers’ strong links with employers enable learners to gain valuable, real-world experience alongside technical training, helping them develop the skills and confidence needed to succeed in industry.
“This year’s Skills Competition Wales has been truly outstanding, showcasing the remarkable talent, dedication and ambition of young people across the country,” said Lisa.
“It’s fantastic to see such strong representation from both colleges and work‑based learning providers, whose partnership with employers is crucial to developing real‑world skills.
“Congratulations to every medal winner and highly commended learner who are inspirational. We wish those progressing to the next stages, including WorldSkills UK, the very best of luck.
“Their success reflects the excellence of the training provider network here in Wales.”
A live awards ceremony, held at the Pavilion Theatre, Rhyl, celebrated 287 medal winners and 327 highly commended achievers across the competitions.
Skills Competition Wales, delivered through the Inspiring Skills Excellence in Wales project, is a launchpad for learners to progress to national and international competitions, including WorldSkills UK, EuroSkills and WorldSkills International, where competitors may be selected to represent Team UK.
Paul Evans, Inspiring Skills Excellence in Wales project director, said: “Skills Competition Wales continues to grow in scale and impact. With 65 competitions and more than 1,100 competitors taking part, it’s fantastic to see so many talented young people pushing themselves to achieve excellence.
“These competitions give learners the opportunity to test their skills in a high-pressure, industry-focused environment while building confidence, resilience and ambition for their future careers.
“The dedication shown by competitors, tutors, training providers and employers across Wales is truly inspiring. I would like to congratulate everyone who took part and wish those progressing to the next stages of competition the very best of luck.”
The gold medallists who are trained by work-based learning providers are Chantal Watters and Chloe Williams from ACT in accountancy and Adam Pike from Cambrian Training Company in culinary arts.
Construction and infrastructure silver medallists form XR Training are Karl Alenizy in electrical installation and Adam Davis and Lewis Williams in retrofit while Bethan Austin-Terry, ACT, won a silver in childcare and Tristan Williams, ITEC Training Soutions, won a bronze in the IT software solutions for business.
Highly commended ACT learners are William Myrick in horticulture, Eddie Pearce in food preparation, Mckenzie O’Rourke in restaurant service and Olivia Ampleford, Ellie Finch and Gintare Jodkeviciute in accountancy.
Other highly commended competitors were Ella Davies and Skye Davies, ITEC Training Solutions, in childcare, William Conway, XR Training, in electrical installation and Bleddyn Daw, Cambrian Training Company, in culinary arts.
