Skills show sets the gold standard

Taking place in the LG Arena of the NEC and including dancing, acrobats, music, celebrities and TV personalities – not to mention the Business Secretary Vince Cable, the ceremony was clearly designed to start the show with a bang and succeeded in no uncertain terms. At the ceremony, Cable outlined the show's essential mission, which was to raise the profile and prestige of vocational skills training and to attract young people to this route. He said: "I want to see a world where it isn't just the 40% of young people who go to university that we celebrate, but the others who are acquiring vocational skills and training which is every bit as valuable – if not more so." While acknowledging the difficulties posed by the UK's financial position, Cable nonetheless pointed to the successes already achieved in the area of skills training, citing a million people currently going through apprenticeships – a figure that has risen 60% in the last two years. By its nature, however, the opening ceremony was only ever going to offer a foretaste of what was to come the following morning. As it transpired, 70,738 people visited The Skills Show to be inspired by demonstrations of skills in action and receive information and advice on careers and training opportunities. More than 60 'Have a Go' areas allowed visitors the chance to try a 'bite-sized' activity in a new skills area, while over 50 Spotlight talks by a range of industry experts provided an insight into the realities of working in vocational skills. In addition to providing onsite advice, careers advisors made appointments with more than 1,000 young people to offer one-on-one interviews and counselling in the following weeks to assist with finding the perfect training course, apprenticeship or job. The Skills Show is designed not only as a showcase for the UK's skilled industries, but also as a venue for competitors in the WorldSkills UK competition to display their skills and compete for medals and a chance to take part in next year's WorldSkills competition in Leipzig. Thus, the show offered a balance between introducing young visitors to professional skills through displays and hands-on opportunities and other skilled young people competing in earnest by displaying the skills they had already acquired. Over 500 people took part in 61 WorldSkills UK National Competitions in skills ranging from Aeronautical Engineering to Landscape Gardening. The competitors secured a place in the WorldSkills UK Competitions after competing in regional heats throughout the UK. They battled it out to win Gold, Silver and Bronze and ultimately be named the 'best of the best' in the UK at their chosen skill. Exhibitors at the show included colleges, universities and learning providers from across the whole of the UK, there to talk to visitors about the different entry routes into a host of career sectors. What is more, some of the biggest names across a vast range of industries were on hand to inspire the next generation. In the engineering sector alone, top employers such as JCB and Jaguar Land Rover also showcased their programmes to attract the brightest talent. Although the skills represented at the Show covered everything from landscape gardening to hairdressing, it was no surprise given the immediacy of the skills crisis facing the sectors that engineering and manufacturing were well represented by a range of major companies. Chief among these was BAE Systems, which acted as a headline sponsor of the event. BAE Systems formed part of the 'Manufacturing Showcase' alongside Jaguar Land Rover, JCB and MBDA and demonstrated some of the latest technologies and capabilities from across the company. The exhibit was manned by current and graduated apprentices from across its UK business. As part of its display, BAE Systems invited its visitors to 'have a go' at building their own aircraft from an in-house, pre-manufactured kit – something that proved predictably popular. It also had a number of apprentices presenting Spotlight Sessions at the show sharing their unique experiences and knowledge. Rachael Carr, an apprentice at the firm, said: "Our make-it challenge is a fun element to try and capture a young person's imagination and get them into an engineering and manufacturing mind-set." Kate Watcham, BAE?Systems' head of media, was effusive about the show, saying: "The first Skills Show was an enormous success and as the lead sponsor we were delighted to see so many young people, teachers and parents enjoying the event. Our stand was manned by some of our 1000 UK apprentices with an additional 15 apprentices taking part in the manufacturing and engineering competitions. I'd encourage any organisation reliant on vocational skills to consider supporting The Skills Show. It's vital for companies to assist events and programmes that are directly involved in encouraging young people to acquire real skills that will lead directly to employment." Jaguar Land Rover's Showcase stand included 4X4 in Schools Technology Challenge remote controlled vehicle tasters, a Jaguar Primary Schools Challenge reaction time challenge, an Education Business Partnership Centre robot challenge and an immersive technology unit that demonstrated how driver/car connectivity in the future will make the driving experience simpler and safer. Several of JLR's apprentices also gave 'Spotlight' talks about their careers. Les Ratcliffe, Head of Community Relations at JLR, said: "We are pleased to support the Skills Show to inspire young people who are considering their future careers. Jaguar Land Rover is committed to promoting the Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) agenda through our national education programmes to address the national shortage of engineers. The hands on activities at the Skills Fair will give students an insight into the exciting career opportunities available at Jaguar Land Rover and will encourage more youngsters to consider careers in engineering and manufacturing." Another sponsor of the show was Premier EDA Solutions, the UK reseller of Altium Electronic Design Software, which acted as training provider to those taking part in the national WorldSkills UK Industrial Electronics Competition. Giving his reasons for this level of support, the company's managing director Phil Mayo said: "One of our long-term goals is to encourage and enable young talented people to enjoy viable careers in the UK electronics industry. Having been involved on the periphery of WorldSkills London 2011, we are delighted to play an active part in WorldSkills UK and are already pleased with the Squad UK result of 4th place at EuroSkills 2012. By providing our expert design skills training for the competitors, we strive to make a positive difference – not just for the competitors but for the industry too." "Quite an Experience" Festo, too, supported the Show and the company's didactic manager Babak Jahanbani was impressed, saying: "We have just under 400 apprentices at Festo, so this whole business of apprenticeships is quite important to us. Events like World Skills and UK Skills let us see the best amongst apprentices and what they're capable of. Everybody's reservation was that it wouldn't compare to WorldSkills London 2011, but it did. Everything was the same if not better. The show is going from strength to strength and getting bigger and bigger. It was quite an experience." At the heart of the event, however, were the young people themselves. As well as those competing in the WorldSkills Event, others were honoured as part of the ninth National Apprenticeship Awards Ceremony. As part of this ceremony, Jenny Westworth, a Semta-certified advanced apprentice, was crowned the first ever national Apprenticeship Champion of the Year. Now a manufacturing engineer at BAE Systems, 23 year old Jenny won after polling the highest number of public votes from a shortlist of 12 regional winners. The award was presented at the ninth National Apprenticeship Awards ceremony. The Apprenticeship Champion of the Year award recognises the significant impact apprentices make to their employer's business development and growth and the former apprentices' role in championing Apprenticeships to schools, young people and the public at large. Jenny, who completed a Semta Advanced Apprenticeship in Aerospace Engineering at BAE Systems in 2010, now combines her job working on Typhoon Aircraft with studying for an Aeronautical HND. She was nominated due to her significant achievements at BAE Systems and her role as an Education Ambassador for the company and also a STEM ambassador for her region. Jenny was keen to emphasise the value of the vocational education her apprenticeship had given her, saying: "For me, I felt there was much more opportunity from an Apprenticeship and it's given me the chance to see and understand a business from different angles." Also keen to emphasise the value of the vocational route was Beth Sherbourne, who was named was named the Higher Apprentice of the Year as part of the Awards. At just 22 she has become a senior procurement officer at MBDA missile system's plant in Bolton, having studied for her degree during the four-year apprenticeship, supported by Semta, the sector skills council for science, engineering and advanced manufacturing and its training partner EAL. She said: "I was working part-time in a supermarket and had intended to go to university," said Beth, "but a lot of my peers had done the same thing and found themselves still working there when they got their degrees. Then I saw the advert for an apprenticeship in engineering and business at MBDA. My experience has made me passionate about how apprenticeships can make a real difference to someone's life and to a business." Engineering Gold Winners at the Skills Show Simon Todd, Qinetiq Aeronautical Engineering: Avionic – Advanced Luke Greenaway, Qinetiq Aeronautical Engineering: Mechanical – Advanced Nick Jones, Reading College Industrial Electronics – Advanced Meghann Butler, Napier University Industrial Control – Advanced Sam Robinson, BAE Systems CNC Milling – Advanced Owen Heward, Rolls-Royce PLC CNC Turning – Advanced David Liptrot, BAE Systems – Preston Training Centre Mechanical Engineering: CAD – Advanced Andrew Craig, Motherwell College Mechanical Engineering: CAD – Higher David Cargill, Northern Regional College Mechatronics – Higher Simon King, Northern Regional College Mechatronics – Higher