Engineering students are WorldSkills finalists
Wed, 16 November 2022
Two students from Tameside College to take part in finals of national skills competition after a tough selection process.
Lucy Yelland and Ben Love are competing in the WorldSkills UK national finals, at Barking and Dagenham College during 14th-18th November.
WorldSkills is the official organisation for vocational skills competitions internationally and regularly organises competitions to find the best students in a range of subject areas.
Both Lucy and Ben, who are studying degree apprenticeships in engineering with the college and Siemens Digital Industries, will be competing in the mechatronics category of the competition. Each student spends eight weeks in college per year, alongside working at Siemen’s headquarters in Manchester.
To reach the national finals both students had to take part in an online competition, then the national qualifiers in Birmingham earlier this year, facing off against tough competition.
In preparation for the event they have been practising with state of the art robotics and pneumatics equipment in the college’s advanced technologies centre.
Lucy, from Staffordshire, said: “I am very excited to compete in the WorldSkills finals, it’s a great opportunity to develop my skills and see what opportunities are out there. A career in engineering was something I was always determined to pursue. We couldn’t have done it without Tameside College, the equipment and the facilities are fantastic and we were encouraged by our teachers to take part in the competition in the first place.”
If successful, Lucy and Ben could be selected for the WorldSkills UK team, which will compete in the world finals of the competition in Lyon, in September 2024.
Charlotte Thornton, head of engineering at Tameside College, said: “I wish Lucy and Ben the very best of luck in the WorldSkills UK finals, they’ve put in a lot of time and effort into the competition and hopefully this will pay off. To be selected to take part in a national final is no small feat and they should be very proud of the achievements they have already had.”
To find out more about Tameside College and the courses on offer, visit the college website or call 0161 908 6600.