Click here to download the supplement 

Welcome to this FE Week supplement covering the Skills Show 2014.

It was an action-packed three days at the Birmingham NEC, with more than 75,000 visitors experiencing more than 50 have-a-go activities and getting inspiration about careers and skills.

Alongside that, we had the National Skills Competitions finals, where, as well as winning a gold medal, talented youngsters could be invited to compete for a squad place for WorldSkills 2017.

We’ve got a quick guide to the Skills Show and some information about its organising body, Find a Future, on page three.

The Skills Show isn’t just about one event however, so you can find out more about the Skills Show Experience and Roadshow, which spread the Skills Show message around the country, on pages four and five.

On pages six and seven we take a look at some of the things happening at the Skills Show and ask some familiar faces what they think of it, and City & Guilds UK managing director Kirstie Donnelly and her PR intern Maria McSorley take on some of the have-a-gos.

Next, Find a Future chief executive Ross Maloney and chair Carole Stott discuss this year’s show and their future plans on page eight, before Skills Show volunteers get some well-deserved credit and then Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg gives his verdict on proceedings on page nine.

Amid the hustle and bustle of the show, the UK’s top skills learners were battling it out in the National Skills Competitions and we talk to some of the training managers, judges and competitors from page 10 to 13.

But it isn’t just young people who want careers advice — their parents want to know how to support them, as Chris Mosler, blogger for Mumsnet and Thinlyspread.co.uk, explains on page 14.

On page 15, Association of Employment and Learning Providers chief executive Stewart Segal explores the role of independent learning providers in WorldSkills and the Skills show.

The Skills Show finished in style on Saturday night and we’ve got coverage from the closing ceremony and interviews with the gold medal winners on page 16, followed by full results tables on pages 20 to 23.

The Skills Show may be over but the mission to promote the skills sector and provide careers advice continues, and you can join in the conversation online with @FEWeek.