Coleg Cambria to host first metalwork tournament in North Wales

Coleg Cambria is to host a competition which inspires metalworkers of the future

Showcasing the skills of talented young metalworkers from across the UK, the college – which has recently been awarded World Skills UK Centre of Excellence status – will hold the Engineering Skills Competitions Sheet Metalwork Technology National Final.

The annual competition is a culmination of regional qualifiers where 35 competitors put their skills to test throughout 2022 to compete for a place in the final.

During the four-day event at Cambria’s Deeside site, beginning on today (November 15), nine finalists representing industry leaders across the UK will skilfully manufacture a stainless-steel pizza oven from scratch.

Their final test projects will be marked and judged by a panel of sheet metalwork technology experts.

Fabrication and Welding students from the college will also be on hand to help in the workshop and support participants, providing the students with vital real-time, real-life experience.

The event is currently funded by the competition’s organising partner, Engineering Skills Competitions, with the support of major sponsors including AMADA UK, Air Products, Lincoln Electric, Skillcraft (INFERNO), Rivtex, Lester Claddings and Cambria itself.

Gareth Phillips, a Technical Training Officer at Deeside, is delighted to welcome the cream of the sector to the north east Wales college’s cutting-edge fabrication and welding workshop.

“This competition was previously part of WorldSkills but is now a standalone event, so we are all excited to see how it develops,” said Gareth, a former Cambria apprentice and WorldSkills UK silver medallist.

“We have sheet metalworkers coming from some of the top businesses around so the standard will be very high.

“It’s an honour for us to be selected to host it and we look forward to welcoming everyone.”

David Vaughan, founder of the Engineering Skills Competitions organisation and its Sheet Metalwork Technology Competition and National Final, brings to the judging panel 53 years of experience competing in and organising national and international competitions.

“We are delighted to be returning to Coleg Cambria once again and where to better to host this National Final than at a World Skills UK Centre of Excellence,” he said.

“With the wealth of talent our competitors are bringing, we anticipate the event to be a true showcase of sheet metalwork technology skills, which they have developed and honed through their apprenticeships, along with support from their companies and training organisations.

“The competition will run simultaneously to the World Skills UK national events, which include more than 60 other competitions across six UK sites. The World Skills UK competition portfolio will be reviewed following these latest events, and we hope that sheet metalwork technology will return to the international competition stage in the future.”