Eight exceptional Oldham College apprentices and students have advanced to the WorldSkills UK 2024 National Finals – a significant proportion of the 20 qualifying finalists across the nine Further Education colleges in Greater Manchester.
The College’s brilliant national finalists are: Anna Platt, Lily Murphy, Jake Howes and Milena Icheke (competing in Digital Media Production), Mika Borwick, Hajerah Begum and Tyler Bartley (Foundation Skills: IT Software Solutions for Business) and Marcus Nawrocki (IT Support Technician).
Some of the finalists at our WorldSkills UK celebration evening
(Left-to-right: Anna Platt, Lily Murphy, Jake Howes, Milena Icheke, Tyler Bartley. Centre: Hajerah Begum)
All eight earned their place at the finals by participating in qualifier heats, maintaining excellent performances through each stage of the competition.
Upon receiving the news, finalists and their guests were invited to a WorldSkills UK Celebration Evening. The students’ accomplishments were celebrated, and they learned about the options of support from Oldham College going forward.
Anna Platt, Digital Media Production finalist said: “Preparing for the finals has really helped me to develop my skills and allowed me to have so many new experiences. I would recommend it to other students who are thinking about taking part!”
Echoing Anna, classmate Milena Icheke said: “WorldSkills UK has helped me develop my problem-solving skills and has taught me how to manage issues as they pop up.”
Reflecting on her experiences, Lily Murphy said: “[WorldSkills UK] has helped me to work in high pressure situations: being in competitions means you have a shorter time frame to plan and finish your work.”
Discussing the support received at college, Foundation Skills: IT Software Solutions for Business finalist Tyler Bartley said: “WorldSkills was a big step, but I’ve had a lot of support from my tutors.”
Jess Criswell, Vice Principal, 16-18 and Adult Programmes, said: “Our finalists are winners already, managing to get through a very competitive number of rounds and getting to the National Finals. We’re supporting them with their technical skills to get them performance-ready and also ensuring they’re prepared mentally for a challenging but exciting experience ahead!
“The celebration event was a great opportunity to say well done to our students and to meet their parents as well.
“We wish them all the best and will be supporting them all the way!”
The WorldSkills UK National Finals will be taking place across Greater Manchester from 19-22 November 2024.
Oldham College is proud to be hosting National Finals for the second year running. This year we are hosting eight competitions in: 3D Digital Game Art; Accountancy; Digital Construction; Electrical Installation; Landscaping; Mechanical Engineering CAD; Plumbing, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning; and Website Development.
The National Finals conclude on Friday 22nd November at Bridgwater Hall, where the medallists for each competition are announced and the achievements of all finalists are celebrated.
The Foundation Skills competitions, and the accompanying medal ceremony, also take place on Friday 22nd November at The Manchester College City Campus.
We wish all our finalists the best of luck!
