WorldSkills National Finalists Announced – Six Stockport Students to Compete Against ‘The Best of the Best’

by Jonathan Harper
WorldSkills Nails

Talented students and apprentices from across the UK have been announced as finalists at a prestigious skills competition – and of those are six from Stockport College.  

WorldSkills UK recently announced the names of the 400 students and apprentices who will be battling it out across 64 disciplines to be crowned national skills champions. The six students from Stockport are set to compete in the national finals from 9-19 November, after being selected as the top performers in their chosen skills from National Qualifiers held across the UK.  

An impressive line-up of Stockport students will compete in the Nail Technician final, representing the Faculty of Hair & Beauty. Tina Blaikie, Molly Nugent, Khadija Kehiou and Samantha Kinsey take up four of the eight finalist places on offer in that category.  

In Creative Media Make Up, student Georgina Kerr will compete for Stockport College against a roster of students from North Warwickshire and South Leicestershire College.  

Rounding up our finalists, computing Apprentice Toby Hallam will compete against other industry trained professionals in the IT Support Technician final.  

Following 2020 and a year without competitions, over 3,000 people registered to take part in the UK-wide competitions back in March. The finalists will compete for gold, silver and bronze, with the winners crowned at a ceremony hosted by TV presenter Steph McGovern from her Packed Lunch studio on Friday 26 November.  

This year sees the finals taking place in locations across the UK for the first time. From the Industrial Robotics final in Ballymena, to Heavy Vehicle Engineering in Cardiff, Culinary Arts in Glasgow and Web Design in Somerset, the 25 venues cover all four corners of the UK. 

Full details of the finals and the names of all the WorldSkills UK 2021 finalists can be found here

WorldSkills UK Centre of Excellence 

In September 2020, Stockport College became one of the first in the UK to become part of the WorldSkills UK Centre of Excellence. 

The Centre of Excellence, which is organised in partnership with education and skills charity NCFE, has been established to mainstream world-class standards in skills development in the UK.