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17/09/2010
Lesley Griffiths, Deputy Minister with some of the competition winners
Teams from Flintshire, Gwynedd and Swansea have scooped the top prizes in a quest to find the nation’s best young environmental skills teams.
The youngsters pitted their knowledge and aptitudes against teams from across Wales in the final of the Environmental Regeneration competition, during the high-profile skillscymru event at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff on September 16th.
Teams from Deeside College, Gower College Swansea, Youth Works at Groundwork Bridgend & Neath Port Talbot and three teams from Coleg Meirion Dwyfor battled it out against each other for the chance to be crowned the nation's best team in the delivery of small environmental regeneration projects.
The winners at the foundation level were Gower College Swansea, the winners at the intermediate level were Deeside College and the winners at the advanced level were Coleg Meirion Dwyfor Greenthumbs.
Backed by the Welsh Assembly Government, through the European Social Fund, SkillsCompetition Wales promotes the importance of strong vocational and trade skills in the workforce. The new Environmental Regeneration competition is run by Groundwork Wales.
The competition reflects the growing importance of environmental skills in the economy as more businesses and organisations strive to achieve greener standards in their activities.
The competition tested how well the teams of young people have developed their skills in delivering small environmental regeneration projects covering a mix of horticulture, landscaping, project design, conservation, community consultation, health and safety and basic construction techniques.
SkillsCompetition Wales aims to find the nation’s most talented learners of vocational skills. It involves colleges, Sector Skills Councils and training providers throughout Wales staging competitions in a wide range of sectors from environmental regeneration and engineering to social care, floristry and hospitality.
These competitions in the regions and nations support WorldSkills UK competitions, through which the top competitors can qualify to represent Britain at the 'WorldSkills' competition - the globe's largest skills event.
WorldSkills sets global standards in more than 40 categories ranging from automobile technology to web design, construction and hairdressing. The biennial event is the largest skills competition in the world and attracts around a thousand competitors from as many 50 countries.
The Welsh Assembly Government is encouraging businesses and skills providers in Wales to join forces in a bid to secure medals at WorldSkills 2011.
Lesley Griffiths, Deputy Minister for Skills, Innovation and Science, said: “I congratulate all the Environmental Regeneration winners on their success. Skills competitions encourage people to reach their full potential and recognise the importance of craftsmanship across all trades and vocations and the valuable part they play in the health of the Welsh economy.
“It is vital that our workforce has the very highest skills and we continue to strive for excellence across all sectors to ensure Wales can compete on the international stage.”
For more information on WorldSkills competitions and skillscymru - Wales’ largest ever skills and careers event which took place at the Millennium Stadium from September 16-18, 2010, please visit the websites: http://www.worldskillsuk.org/ and http://www.skillscymru.co.uk/
