Students from Harlow College took part in a week-long inter-college skills competition. Organised by the Federation of Essex Colleges (FEDEC) in partnership with WorldSkills UK, the event supports learners and apprentices in developing the high-level skills sought by employers.

 

The inaugural FEDEC Inter-College Skills Competition: Going for Gold Across Essex ran from 26–30 January 2026. Learners from five FEDEC colleges competed in 10 skill areas, including Plumbing, Hair & Beauty, Electrical Installation, Bricklaying, Engineering, Catering, Digital and Science. All competitions were benchmarked against WorldSkills UK-approved briefs and mark schemes to ensure alignment with international standards.

Teams from Colchester Institute, Chelmsford College, and South Essex Colleges Group competed alongside Harlow College students in hands-on challenges. The competition concluded with an awards ceremony on Friday 30 January at USP College’s Seevic Campus in Benfleet.

Harlow College students won awards in the following categories:

• Science Gold Award: Dhiyaa Kathikeyan; Silver Award: Mason Collis
• Health and Social Care Team Gold Award: Lucy Adams and Maya Connell

Winners will now progress to WorldSkills UK, helping to raise Essex’s national profile and demonstrate the region’s commitment to world-class skills development.

Parisa Shirazi, Director of Standards, WorldSkills UK said: “It is fantastic to be working with FEDEC on this exciting new programme. Skills competitions are one of the best ways to develop and assess high quality technical skills and this framework will ensure more learners and apprentices at the colleges can benefit through competition-based learning which is designed to help meet rapidly changing employer needs in existing and emerging industries.”

Laura Wedgbury-Glew, Assistant Principal at Harlow College, said: “We are incredibly proud to have taken part in this inter-college skills competition, which has given students a fantastic opportunity to showcase the progress they have made so far this year.

Our students and staff have shown immense commitment and professionalism throughout, and their hard work has been evident at every stage. I could not be prouder of the dedication and teamwork they have demonstrated.

The endorsement of WorldSkills, along with the support of our sponsors and judges, has made this experience even more special, helping to celebrate skills excellence and raise aspirations.”

Level 3 Applied Science student, Mason Collis, Silver Award winner in the Science competition, said: “Taking part has really helped me build my confidence. It has allowed me to apply the skills I have learned in college to the competition.”

Level 3 Applied Science student, Dhiyaa Karthikeyan, Gold Award winner in the Science competition, added: “I really enjoyed it! Taking part helped me learn a lot of things, especially the importance of teamwork.”

Level 2 Electrical Installations student, James Cooper, who competed in the Electrical competition, said: “The competition has taught me the importance of keeping track of time, which I will apply to my practical work. At the start, I felt the pressure a bit but grew in confidence and had fun doing it and was glad I got to take part.”

T Level Health students Lucy Adams and Maya Connell are both first years who worked on a practical assessment involving infection control and person-centred care of a patient in a hospital ward. After winning the Gold Award, the judges said they could not believe they were first years and that their person-centred care and attention to detail was amazing.

WorldSkills UK competitions are a key part of post-16 education, helping young people develop technical and employability skills to global industry standards.

ENDS

worldskillsuk.org