GMColleges Skills Competition Endorsed by WorldSkills UK

This year’s annual GMColleges Skills Competition saw 1,084 students from the 10 Greater Manchester boroughs competing across a range of exciting subjects.

For the first time, the competition has been endorsed by the WorldSkills UK Local Skills Competition Endorsement Framework. 

The Framework is designed to elevate standards, foster ambition, and equip both teaching staff and learners with access to world-class skill development, further enhancing the competition while supporting students across the region.

As one of the largest inter-college competitions across the UK, the event is run by a dedicated group of champions from each of the nine Further Education Colleges across Greater Manchester. It provides learners with the opportunity to showcase their vast array of technical and soft skills such as teamwork, resilience and confidence, developed during their time studying at college.

Learners compete in 71 individual competitions, which offer the chance to increase technical and employability skills. These opportunities can be transformational, they also act as a stepping stone to registering for the WorldSkills UK competitions.

The events focus on 11 specialisms and were held across our nine college campuses: Digital, Creative & Media, Hair & Beauty, Engineering, MV & Science, Construction, Music & Performing Arts, Art & Design, Enterprise, Travel & Tourism, Health Social Care & Early Years, Hospitality & Catering, Foundation Learning and Sport & Public Services.

The competition aims to raise the profile of technical skills in Greater Manchester and offers students, trainees and apprentices a chance to challenge, benchmark and showcase their skills. 

Anna Dawe, GMColleges Chair, explains,

“The competition offers an excellent platform to highlight and promote technical education within our region. Strong technical skills create valuable career opportunities that will benefit not just the students, but also contribute to the future workforce and overall economic growth of Greater Manchester.”

Trafford & Stockport College Group Skills Specialist, Joan Scott said, “GMColleges is dedicated to empowering skills development through competition-based learning. Together, we can raise standards in technical and vocational education, ensuring our students and apprentices are equipped for success in their careers.”

WorldSkills UK’s programmes are seen as an integral part of the post-16 education and training calendar. GMColleges has been working with WorldSkills UK to use its Local Skills Competitions Endorsement Framework to support its students and apprentices in developing their technical and employability skills to higher levels. 

Parisa Shirazi, Director of Standards, WorldSkills UK said:

“Congratulations to all those who took part in the GMColleges Skills Competition.  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.”

The Skills Competition feeds into the WorldSkills UK competition which invites students across the country to compete. This year GMColleges has a staggering 1,778 students registered – a 40% increase on last year’s registrations.

GMColleges represents the colleges, collectively delivering learning to 80,000 students, supporting them to meet the needs of the employers and the GM workforce, current and future, in key growth and employment sectors with training at all levels and ages from entry to postgraduate.