London Skills Team Brief December 2014/issue no. 4 Congratulations to London medal winners at WorldSkills UK finals in The Skills Show this year! It is great to see students perform well at the finals and read stories about their competition journey. These stories highlight the benefits of taking part in skills competitions, which develop a range of soft skills such as confidence and tenacity in addition to increased vocational skills. However, as a region London remains at the lower end of the league table, particularly when considering that this year s medals came from only four competition areas. A lot remains to be done to increase London s performance at WorldSkills UK our aim is to see London top the league tables by 2017! We are currently developing a London strategy for skills competitions and shows for 2015-17, which will serve as a starting point for this ambition and will build on the work done in the recent years. AoC London is also applying for funding to organise more Skills Show Experience events next spring, which will include an even closer link to skills competitions than previously. The skills competition CPD programme this autumn is one of the tools AoC London has used to develop London providers capacity to perform at WorldSkills UK competitions. The events received very good feedback from participants, and we hope to be able to organise further CPD events in 2015. If you have any suggestions on topics you would like the CPD to focus on in particular, please let us know. Last but not least, we were pleased to see 18 London colleges promote their course offer and the further education sector at Skills London this autumn. We re hoping that next year will see an even larger presence by London colleges. Cathy Walsh, AoC London Region Co-Chair; AoC London Regional World Skills Champion and Principal, Barking & Dagenham College
The Skills Show 2014 and WorldSkills UK finals The Skills Show, the country s largest skills and careers event, provided inspiration and advice about future careers to almost 74,000 people at the NEC, Birmingham on 13-15 November. The show, now in its third year, welcomed 73,858 visitors during its three day run and featured a wide range of hands-on experiences and skills competitions designed to help shape the futures and transform the lives of those who attended. Delivering a high quality, memorable experience is of paramount importance to all those involved in the staging of The Skills Show, and I am confident that 2014 s event was our best yet, says Ross Maloney, Chief Executive of Find a Future, which oversees the event as well as WorldSkills UK competitions, the finals of which were held at The NEC alongside the Show. 64 WorldSkills UK competitions reached their national finals at The Skills Show, with 588 finalists showing off their abilities to be recognised as the very best young talent in the country. 18 London students were awarded medals at the finals. This included 11 students from London colleges (table below). A further three students from Carshalton College, City and Islington College and City of Westminster College were highly commended at the finals. College Winner Competition Medal College of North West London Kaylan Kumar Bojanapu & Yogdip Raghvani Rona Hassan Mobile Robotics (open) Forensic Science City and Islington College Charlotte Huck (open) Forensic Science (open) Uxbridge College Pit Henrich Games Development (advanced) South Thames College Sam Cordingley, Popular Music Keddon Ettienne, Kane (advanced) Johnson, Daniel Lawyer, Dion Mason- Poole & Taran Kelly Pring Gold Gold Silver Silver Bronze 2
Gold and silver for City and Islington forensic science students Rona Hassan, 28, and Charlotte Huck, 19, who are studying an FdSc in Forensic and Crime Scene Investigation at City and Islington College s Centre for Applied Sciences, seriously impressed the judges in the heats and final of the prestigious contest. Rona said: I am so proud to have received the gold medal and for City and Islington to have given me the opportunity to take part in World Skills. It was an amazing experience, and taking part let alone winning has really helped me with my confidence and drive to finish my course and pursue a career in forensics. David Swinscoe, Director for the Centre for Applied Sciences, said: We are very proud of Rona s achievement and all of the students, past students and lecturers who supported each other through the process. Studying forensics requires an extremely high level of skill, and as a college we are proud that students can develop to such a high level that they can progress to vital and rewarding careers. Gold medals for College of North West London mobile robotics students Kalyan Bojanapu, 16, and Yogdip Raghvani, 19, both from Wembley, competed in a three day competition which involved first designing a robot and then programming it to carry out different tasks. This included making the robot move, stop, and complete courses. The competition was tough but in the end Kalyan and Yogdip shone through and took the gold medal. Yogdip achieved a bronze medal in the WorldSkills UK web development competition in 2013 and he was delighted to have increased his medal tally this year. He said: To get gold this year is great. I really enjoy building, engineering and problem solving so this competition was good for me. I want to go on to do something related to programming as a career, so mobile robotics is good practice for me. I didn t think we were going to win gold, so I was shocked when our names were read out! 3
Both Kalyan and Yogdip spent months preparing for the competition, spending many hours practicing their mobile robotics skills in extra classes with tutor Sanyaade Adekoya. Kalyan said: I still feel excited to have won. I ve never entered a competition like this and it was fun to take part, it wasn t nerve wracking. I think competing helps you learn new skills, and things like how to work under pressure so it s a great experience. I really hope to be able to compete again next year. Silver for Uxbridge College student in games development Uxbridge College student Pit Henrich undertaking BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma in Creative Media Production (Games Design) scooped a silver medal in games development at The Skills Show. Pit said: The aim of the competition was to simulate a real-life situation similar to what you would find in industry, with everyone modelling on industry-standard software within a set time frame and being judged by professionals. The greatest thing about taking part was the experience - to be involved in such an enormous competition on a national scale was incredible. It gives you a different perspective to studying at college, and it was amazing to meet the judges. It was very exciting to take part in, especially as the standard of what everyone was doing was so high which meant the competition was more intense. You don t really notice what s going on around you, we just focussed on the screens and tried to ignore the rest of the world. It was hard work though, it drains you mentally and physically. When I received silver I was happy - although I was a little bit disappointed it wasn t gold. 4
Bronze for South Thames College student band Those Guys South Thames College band Those Guys struck a chord with the judges at this year s Skills Show in Birmingham, taking bronze in the Popular Music competition. The six-man band, who describe their sound as classic soul meets funky rock, played an awardwinning set included cover versions of Hump de Bump by the Red Hot Chili Peppers and the R&B classic Just The Two Of Us. The Skills Show is the highlight of an exciting musical journey for the South Thames College music performance students, who play at multiple venues as part of a tour around the Midlands that culminates in the competition heats in Birmingham. The competition is an opportunity for students to test their abilities against the best college bands in the country, as well as a great opportunity for them to work to a brief, said Toby Clark, Music and Performing Arts curriculum manager. I m delighted that the boys took bronze in this year s competition hopefully we can build on this success for next year. Continuing Professional Development on Skills Competitions AoC London, with support from AoC national office, organised four continuing professional development (CPD) events on skills competitions in London in autumn 2014. The events were funded by the Education and Training Foundation. In total, 67 teachers, tutors and managers from 20 London colleges took part in the events. The feedback from the events was overwhelmingly positive. 5
Train the Experts, West Thames College, 8 October Train the Experts workshop at West Thames College was an opportunity for teachers and managers to learn about how skills competitions can be effectively embedded into teaching and learning. The day also included training on the types of coaching skills teachers can use to support their students and how participants can cascade the knowledge gained within their organisations. Using competition to stimulate employer engagement, Bromley College, 4 November The workshop at Bromley College focused on how skills competitions can be used to stimulate employer engagement. The aim of the workshop was to support participating colleges to engage more fully with existing employer contacts, exploit opportunities to engage new employers and reinvigorate relationships with lapsed employers. Multi-organisational vocational masterclass, South Thames College, 6 November The vocational masterclass brought together teachers from London colleges to explore how skills competitions can be used to support teaching and learning. The day included competitions by South Thames College students on hairdressing, beauty, games development and painting and decorating. High-level strategy workshop, Barking & Dagenham College, 27 November The strategy workshop at Barking & Dagenham College brought together Principals, Vice Principals and senior leaders to discuss a strategic approach to skills competitions and shows in London. A number of ideas were suggested on how to embed the use of competitions in teaching, learning and assessment and how to increase London colleges participation and performance in WorldSkills UK competitions. The event also included feedback from students about their experiences of engaging in skills competitions. 6
Skills London 2014 London s biggest jobs and careers event, Skills London 2014 took place on 21 and 22 November at ExCeL. 32,490 visitors attended the event which featured 196 exhibitors with over 45,000 job opportunities including apprenticeships on offer. Organised by Prospects Events and supported by the Mayor of London, Skills London 2014 comprised a mixture of employers, colleges including 18 London colleges and training providers all eager to meet the thousands of 15 to 24- year-olds that attended the event. Visitors participated in work-related games and activities including motor vehicle maintenance, DJing, 3D printing, cake decorating, brick-laying, movie making and code-breaking. On the morning of the first day a panel discussion was held between young people and Boris Johnson where they had the opportunity to ask him questions about the future of London before he tried his hand at some of the activities on offer at the event including wallpapering and gaming. Boris said I love coming to Skills London because you see not only all the jobs that are going and the incredible diversity of the London economy, but you see the enthusiasm of the young people and their willingness to try virtually everything, it s very inspiring. 2015 Calendar of Events 2015 Calendar of Events February AoC London WorldSkills Group meeting 9-13 March Apprenticeship Week March The Skills Show Experience at Havering College of FE and HE (TBC) May The Skills Show Experience at South Thames College (TBC) May AoC London WorldSkills Group meeting 13-19 June Adult Learners Week June The Skills Show Experience at West Thames College (TBC) 7
June The Skills Show Experience at Hackney Community College (TBC) 11-16 August WorldSkills International, Sao Paulo September AoC London WorldSkills Group meeting 17-19 November AoC Annual Conference and Exhibition 19-21 November The Skills Show November Skills London December AoC London WorldSkills Group meeting Overview of skills competitions and shows Local Regional National International Local skills competitions Regional WorldSkills UK heats WorldSkills UK finals WorldSkills International competitions The Skills Show Experience Skills London The Skills Show Funded/ organised by Find a Future Skills competition CPD programme Funded by the Education and Training Foundation Organised by London First & Prospects Photographs courtesy of City and Islington College College of North West London Uxbridge College South Thames College Barking & Dagenham College 8