WorldSkills Update

South Eastern Regional College has had a long-standing relationship with WorldSkills so we are sad to learn that the WorldSkills UK LIVE planned for November at Birmingham’s NEC has been postponed – sadly, another knock-on effect of COVID-19.

Students at SERC have enjoyed great success through WorldSkills UK over several years, most recently with a team of seven students who were finalists in the Health, Hospitality and Lifestyle competition for their Confectionary s and Culinary Arts Skills - Brendan Addis (Newtownards), Courtney Johnston (Newtownards), Katie Graham (Dromara) and Nathan Corry (Belfast), Danny Bunphaung (Newtownards) and Phadon Wichianrak (Comber) - and Electrical Apprentice Scott Barr (Ballygowan), Construction and Infrastructure finalist with his Electrical Installation skills.

In addition, Level 3 Plastering student, Curtis Johnston (Hillsborough) competed as part of Team UK at WorldSkills 2019 in August, in Kazan, Russia, proving he was one of the best and competing on the world stage.

Last March, Lisburn Campus was buzzing as we geared up to host the World Skills Selection competition for Painting and Decorating and Tiling, welcoming students, their coaches and representatives from across the UK.

The team at WorldSkills have been in touch to let us know their plans:

The safety of WorldSkills UK LIVE attendees is, and always will be, our number one priority. Given ongoing uncertainty with COVID-19, and after consultation with partners, we’ve taken the decision to postpone WorldSkills UK LIVE from this year until 18-20 November 2021, when we’ll return to the NEC stronger than ever. Further, after consultation with partners and in light of the ongoing uncertainty, we will not be running our national competition cycle in 2020 including the national final due to safety concerns.

We remain committed to reach and impact as many young people as possible this year. That is why we are developing two exciting digital projects that will provide educators and young people with access to world class training that is usually only available to Team UK. We are also creating new resource that will help educators harness the training methods used in competitions to help more young people develop higher quality skills.

Our Centre of Excellence, in partnership with NCFE will also be launching in September, which will allow us to work with colleges to help mainstream world-class standards in teaching, learning and assessment, helping thousands of young people boost their potential.

We are determined to support over 180,000 young people across the UK through our new activities and will continue to work hard with our valued partners to share our knowledge and expertise helping young women and men make important decisions about their future and to reach their full potential.

Click here to read an Update on the WorldSkills UK COVID-19 action plan.

SERC are looking forward to continuing our work with WorldSkills UK as we all adapt to the challenges ahead.

Pictured above: Level 3 Plastering student, Curtis Johnston (Hillsborough) competed as part of Team UK at WorldSkills 2019 in August, in Kazan, Russia, proving he was one of the best and competing on the world stage.

Apply now for courses commencing September 2020. For more information visit www.serc.ac.uk to find out how you could be #BetterOffAtSERC

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