Under pressure students show their metal ahead of UK skills tournament

Under pressure learners were put to the test in preparation for the UK ‘Skills Olympics’.

A group of Aircraft Maintenance students and apprentices from Coleg Cambria Deeside completed a ‘pressure test’ against the clock and under the watchful eye of Jamie Mapp-Jones, Curriculum Director of Full-time Apprenticeships, and Technical Training Officers (TTO) Caleb Maxfield and Rosie Boddy.

Rosie is also a former WorldSkills UK Gold winner, and the organisation endorsed the event ahead of this year’s national finals, to be held in venues across South Wales in November.

Over the course of 48 hours, a series of tests were held in three different disciplines – sheet metalwork, wing inspection and electrical installation.

The TTOs assessed their performances in line with marking schemes that simulate real-world activity, tabulating and comparing results against the national average for the Aircraft Maintenance category.

The first-year apprentices were representing industry partners Airbus, Raytheon, NWI and Aircamo Aviation, and Caleb says the sessions were “best practice” in providing them with a flavour of what WorldSkills UK is all about.

“We’ve been incredibly impressed with the skills on display and the results make for interesting reading,” he said.

“The three tests introduced them to new things and showed elements of teamwork, which was fantastic to see.

“It was a great effort all-round and hopefully going forward we will hold more sessions like this to prepare our learners for the contest, as well as the world of work.”

Jamie added: “This really gave them a taster of what it’s like to compete in the competition and was a good opportunity to give them an insight and see if they’re ready and prepared.”

Rosie was one of just six talented young apprentices and students from Wales to represent Team UK at WorldSkills Lyon 2024.

She said: “This will be their first exposure to anything competition-related so it’s a little bit different to what they do day to day, putting them under time pressure to see if they enjoy it and are good at it.

“It’s not for everyone so this was a good opportunity to see if they like it before we look to put them through to the later stages of the competition.”

Skills Competition Lead Robert Jones echoed those words and said: “Cambria has paved the way forward for future success in competitions and these test events play a key role in preparing them to thrive under pressure.”

Parisa Shirazi, Director of Standards at WorldSkills UK, added: “Congratulations to all those who took part in the Aircraft Maintenance local skills competition at Coleg Cambria.

“Competition-based learning is recognised by educators as one of the most powerful tools for driving quality improvement, as well as developing and assessing technical skills.

“This Framework is designed to raise standards, inspire ambition, and provide teaching staff and learners with access to world-class skills development to meet the rapidly changing demands of both existing and emerging industries.”