College competitors selected for Worldskills UK squad

Image caption: Hattie Parnham at competion

An apprentice and former apprentice from North Warwickshire and South Leicestershire College (NWSLC) have been selected as members of the WorldSkills Squad UK and will have the opportunity to compete on a global stage at the international WorldSkills 2024 competition in Lyon next year.

Hattie Parnham from Wigston, who is currently working as an apprentice painter and decorator for Ashby Decorator Centre Ltd, and Sam Abbott, from Coventry, now a joiner at E Brook Joinery Ltd, have been named amongst 94 candidates who will compete to represent the UK in the ‘Skills Olympics’.

This internationally respected competition is held biannually and rewards excellence in technical challenges. Team UK will face competitors from 80 countries for places on the podium with Gold, Silver, and Bronze medals available in a wide range of specialist disciplines.

Sam Abbott, who won a Gold medal for joinery in the WorldSkills UK competition finals in 2021, will take part in ‘Back to Basics’ training in Chichester this month and Hattie Parnham, who secured the Silver medal for painting and decorating in the 2022 construction and infrastructure skills competition will be put through her paces in Dundee next month.

Marion Plant, OBE FCGI, Principal and Chief Executive of North Warwickshire and South Leicestershire College, who is also deputy chair and trustee of WorldSkills, said, “This is fantastic news; we’re very proud of Hattie and Sam and delighted that they have been selected for Squad UK. WorldSkills opens so many doors for young people and, with hard work and dedication, they can benefit from some amazing opportunities. We are sure that competing as part of this scheme will provide both Sam and Hattie with an unforgettable experience that will help them to grow and develop both personally and professionally.

“Hattie and Sam have benefited from some fantastic support from their tutors who consistently go the extra mile to help students and apprentices to practice and prepare themselves as well as they can. We believe that competitions are an excellent way of enabling students to practice real-world employability skills, inspiring them to get enthusiastic about their future career options. We wish them both the very best of luck as they work towards the competition in Lyon next year.”

Ben Blackledge, WorldSkills UK Deputy CEO explained that this is a life-changing moment for the 94 Squad members, who now face months of intensive training that will take their skills to a whole new level.

He said, “They have done so well to get to this stage and are fantastic examples of the very best of our further education system, but the hard work really starts now as they have an international competition to prepare for.”