HoW College set to host and participate in World Skills UK Competition

On the 8th June 2023, Heart of Worcestershire College (HoW College) is set to host and participate in the WorldSkills UK Laboratory Technician Regional National Qualifier at the College’s Redditch campus. 

WorldSkills UK aim to inspire young people and adults to be ambitious in their pursuit of skills to the highest level. 

The competition-based development programme is proven to up-skill and develop young people from all backgrounds and abilities. 97% of previous entrants say they improved their technical skills after taking part, 93% said they improved their personal and employability skills and 90% said they can apply the skills they developed to their education, work or other parts of their life. 

This year not only is HoW College hosting the regional national qualifier, but the College also has eight finalists participating from the Applied Science course.

During the Laboratory Technical Regional National Qualifiers, students will be allocated a laboratory bench space and provided with all the materials and reagents needed to complete the task. Students will also receive a protocol for the task and any information needed to risk assess the work and analyse their results. The total time for the competition is 5 hours, this includes time to read the protocol, review any risks, complete the experimental work, take notes on their procedure and results, and analyse their results. A number of expert judges will be present to observe and mark all competitors against specific aspects of the competition.

Speaking about the upcoming competition, HoW College Applied Science student, Alice Webb said:

‘When I had sent off my entry stage answers off, I was a little nervous because I wanted to get through to the regional qualifier stage. 

When I got the email through saying that I did get into the regional qualifier stage, I was really happy that I got through.’

Those who excel in the Regional Qualifiers will then be invited to the National Qualifiers. If successful, they will be invited to take part in the National Finals, in November 2023, with the winners crowned the UK’s best in their chosen skill. They will also have the chance to be selected to compete against their international peers at WorldSkills Lyon 2024. 

For more information on applied science at HoW College please visit here.