Electronic Engineering students head to skills competiton

The UK’s top apprentices and learners will be going for gold at the WorldSkills UK LIVE National Finals on 15-17 November.

Among them will be two Electronic Engineering students from Gower College Swansea – Matthew Belton and Jamie Skyrme.

They will attend the event at the Birmingham NEC and undertake a challenging set of competition tasks including fault finding, electronic design, programming and prototyping.

“Out of 67 competitors from across the UK, only eight were selected as finalists so to have two of those representing the College is a fantastic achievement,” says Curriculum Leader Steve Williams.

All eight finalists will undertake pre-competition training courtesy of Gower College Swansea and Semta/WorldSkills over the October half term break in which they will be put through their paces at the Tycoch Campus workshops.

In addition to having two students taking part in the competition, and following a successful bid put in to WorldSkills by Steve Williams, the College also will run this year’s interactive showcase which focuses on SMART home set-ups.

“It’s amazing what technology can do now,” says Steve. “For example, your fridge can tell your phone what you need when you’re out doing your shopping or your washing machine can tell your TV when the cycle has finished. Our students Richard Kostromin and Callum Elsey, alongside lecturer Cameron Jones, will be demonstrating the electronics thinking behind these innovations which really take technology to the next level.

“This is the second consecutive year that the College has run the event showcase and we are looking forward to being once again at the centre of electronic delivery in the UK. This will be an exceptional learning experience for Matthew, Jamie, Richard and Callum and we are delighted to play such an integral role in this event.”

WorldSkills UK Competitions, which are run in partnership with organisations from industry and education, are proven to help people go further, faster in their training and chosen career.