Why we joined the Research College Group – and you should too

As far back as 1996, the question was being already asked: why is research invisible in further education? In his seminal article, Geoffrey Elliott identified specific barriers, including the absence of a research tradition, undervaluing the links between research and practice, an unsupportive climate, and the absence of a model for research in our varied sector.

As Catherine Gray explained in these pages two weeks ago, many further education organisations do now value the links between research and practice in FE, rejecting more school-focused research in favour of practitioner-inquiry which is better suited to the breadth and complexity of FE.

And as Andrew Morris pointed out last week, the existing climate is largely now much more supportive. The LSRN is proving to be more and more popular. Practitioner research is supported by the ETF and AoC through various initiatives. And we now have a Research College Group (RCG) too.

Both articles have helped me reflect on our own journey at Solihull College & University Centre. In particular, joining the RCG (a collective of further education providers with a broad commitment to research in FE and the development of a strong model to assure its quality) has been instrumental.

Historically, there has always been a rich history of research at Solihull. Some of that has been practitioner inquiry (often towards professional qualifications, including initial teacher education). However, it also includes joint practice projects with higher education colleagues, and participating in research projects which explore FE practice.

With the founding of our university centre in 2015, research became more visible with the launch of our HE journal and annual conference. This began the process of making research more visible as colleagues were encouraged to share with others.

At that time, there was still a disconnect; Many of our staff working in the college would not necessarily have access to either the conference or the journal, even if they were researching themselves.

It’s a perfect example of the sector meeting its own needs

That’s when I began to realise that part of the problem was the lack of visibility (in that research wasn’t being shared) rather than a lack of research itself. For example, my first practitioner-inquiry in 2006 was part of an undergraduate qualification which had been funded by the college, and yet I hadn’t shared what I’d learned – even within my own team.

To bridge that disconnect and enable research to be recognised and shared across the whole college, we ran our first #FEResearchmeet in 2019, to share the good practice which already existed, but also to start creating a culture of celebration of research across the college. 

The following year brought Covid lockdowns and, unable to meet in person for our second #FEResearchmeet, we went online and ran it virtually. This led us to working with more practitioners across the sector and, in 2020, Solihull College & University Centre joined forces with other further education organisations to found the Research College Group, led by Sam Jones (the founder of FEResearchmeet).

This has been a key decision in our journey to recognising the importance of research in our sector, and especially towards providing a model for how to do, share and implement it in ways that suit our subjects, settings and contexts.

The RCG seeks to break down barriers, with the explicit purpose of developing the expertise, capacity, quality and publication of research from within further education. This puts us in a unique position to work outside the boundaries of our own organisations by working together across projects.

We will shortly be publishing two such projects: one is small-scale and practice-focused to look at how an idea which sprang up in one college could be tested in another; the other is a project across all the member colleges collecting data around the digital pedagogies adopted in response to the Covid lockdowns.

Andrew Morris is right: FE research cannot be sustained on practitioner commitment alone. But nor can it become systematic if colleges are working alone. We need a wider culture of research in every college, and for that we must work together.

The Research College Group is a perfect example of the sector creating its own infrastructure to meet its needs and the needs of its staff and learners. Come and join us!

Why every teacher needs a hinterland – and everyone benefits from it

Teachers are really quite an extraordinary bunch of people. Some of those I work with have joined the profession late, often after years in industry or the private sector. They bring with them a world of experience and a lifetime of learning that’s invaluable.

Then again, occasionally a teacher leaves the profession and word comes back to us of what they’re up to. High salary. Responsibility. Thriving. Sometimes there are reports suggesting ex-teachers are much in demand elsewhere, or that the soft skills teachers have will help them in other paths in life. We’re clearly a pretty impressive lot, even if many people haven’t quite cottoned on yet or think they could do a better job.

But what I find most impressive is what teachers get up to outside of the classroom and the college. When I was a trainee, I recall an experienced teacher taking me aside and advising me with all the seriousness he could muster: ‘Have a hinterland.’ And this is what I think makes teachers so impressive. 

I work with teachers who are musicians, scooting away at the end of the day to a rehearsal and coming back from a weekend recording. I have colleagues who are comedians, spending evenings on a stage making people laugh. Much as I do unwittingly in the classroom, I sometimes think. Others write. Poems, novels, stories, plays, histories.

Some have side hustles. I know church wardens, councillors, chess champions. I have teacher colleagues who have fostered dozens of children over the decades.

These people have rich and varied hinterlands. And the reason I love this is because teaching is a craft and an art that, done well, should involve your whole person. We bring all we are to all we do, and students benefit from our wider experiences.

Recently my college began a new programme where every teacher was asked to dip into their hinterland, pull something out and share it. Students signed up for these extra activities, which were properly timetabled.

Some got to go horse riding. Some learned magnificent opening gambits in chess. Some wrote poems. Some wrote songs. Some learned a few phrases in a new language. Some read great world literature and discussed it. Some painted or drew.

Teaching can consume your whole life if you let it. We mustn’t

In this way, our students gained fresh experiences and enhanced their cultural capital. They got to taste new things they would otherwise never know about. Teachers got to show off their expertise in fields far from their subject areas and the whole encounter was profoundly different from that of the normal classroom lesson.

If we are doing more than teaching to an exam but are really trying to teach the whole person, then this must be important. 

It is interesting what this exercise has revealed. First is the value of the humanities, arts and sports. The h-art-s. Or hearts. Generations of students have lived in a world where STEM was king. If you want a lucrative career, if you want to be where it’s happening, then STEM is where you need to be, they’re told.

But most of our activities, and the ones that were most popular, tended to be humanities, arts or sports based. It is these that give our lives colour and shape and meaning. It is the humanities and arts that help us to handle the big questions of existence. Surely we haven’t forgotten how much the arts kept us all sane during Covid lockdowns. 

The second thing it revealed was something sadder. On first hearing of the scheme, some teachers felt burdened by the extra demand. But the actual experience was positive.

Still, I have had conversations even recently with colleagues who have decided to go part-time in order to have more balance in their lives, especially when they have young families or are towards the end of their career.

Teaching is a profession that can consume your whole life if you let it. We mustn’t. My old mentor was right. You have to have a hinterland. It’s from there that the inspiration comes and the rivers of life flow.

Retreat there as often as you can. You will benefit. Everyone will. 

An evidence-based approach to equality, diversity and inclusion

Equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) is a priority across the whole education and skills sector, but we’ve found that the key to progress and enabling culture change is understanding local circumstances by looking closely at the evidence.

When we started looking at our learner population, we knew our profile would be diverse. Approximately one-third of our offer is ESOL-based and we have good provision for learners with different learning abilities.

However, when we looked closely at attainment data through a more nuanced EDI focus, achievement gaps became clear, including with our cohort of African learners and in some curriculum areas, such as creative industries. Understanding the data allowed us to develop targeted approaches that have helped address these gaps.

We’ve also looked carefully at our staff data, in terms of representation and whether all voices are being heard. We examined the roles we have, the bands for those roles, access to CPD, and progression and promotion. In doing so, our links to the local authority were helpful; We were able to join its annual staff survey, which provided us with baseline information.

That enabled honest, in-depth conversations with staff across the board about ambitions, aspirations and contributions, beyond those who are always involved. This was mutually beneficial and contributes to our recruitment, training and retention.

That activity also informs our Staff Engagement Group. The group had already been established, but the data allowed us to be more precise in ensuring that it reflected the staff body. As a result, the group is now in a position where it is committed to leading conversations with other colleagues to establish what needs to be different from a staff perspective and identify clear actions and indicators to ensure those actions are achieved.

How to share information of this nature with staff needs careful consideration because it isn’t always plain sailing. It needs to be based on an understanding of organisational culture among leaders. We have a very open culture and good levels of trust, partly because of the work we had previously done on our inclusion agenda and the CPD opportunities it had included.

Sharing information of this nature isn’t always plain sailing

That context allowed us to be honest and acknowledge that our starting position wasn’t good enough and that we needed staff help to change it. That was helpful. It made it clear that we all needed to work together to improve all aspects of inclusion and secured buy-in.

It has also aided our recruitment and retention. We’ve employed some creative approaches in this arena for some time, taking on volunteers to provide opportunities for local residents and identifying talent in our learner body to transition into teaching. Equipped with our new insight, we’ve been able to recruit staff who reflect the demographics and experiences of our learners in a range of roles.

The staff buy-in we’d secured was crucial. Particular individuals came forward to lead on this, helping to ensure we supported the growth of individuals within the organisation. That work has built on our long-held commitment to professional development, which manifests itself through things like supporting individuals to undertake initial teacher education and our use of the Education and Training Foundation’s professional standards to encourage progression.

The work with staff is viewed positively by learners, who see themselves represented in the staff body and understand that we are serious about inclusion. At a meeting of our Learner Forum, one individual told us they had initially thought their positive experience was because they were treated specially as a wheelchair user; Seeing what the organisation had done for others made them realise that it was actually our ethos, and they genuinely had a voice.

The work is never done, of course. We need to keep listening to staff and learners and refreshing our approach. The intelligence we gain from our links with the local authority and connections with the voluntary sector, as well as the local knowledge and language skills of current staff and volunteers, will continue to be vital.

Being open and responsive to change is part and parcel of what we do, and that ability and willingness to pivot around EDI is integral to our wider mission.

We mustn’t set a precedent that undermines the value of apprenticeships and training

Whether it is allowing individuals to enhance their personal skillsets and careers, meeting the needs of businesses across the country or acting as a driver for social mobility, apprenticeships and wider training offerings are crucial to creating a country that works for everyone.

However, it is important that the training which leads to qualifications is fully regulated and consistent, driving standards which will help provide a platform for the workforce of tomorrow.

For these reasons, I have fundamental concerns about a government consultation which is currently being staged around the early years sector.

The proposed changes would create an experience-based progression route that would essentially allow staff working in nurseries for as little as six months and with a Level 2 qualification to be deemed qualified at Level 3 if a colleague felt they were worthy of it.

What’s more, that assessment could come from a colleague who themselves has very little experience. Such is the value we place on having thorough checks, here at Realise, our assessors require at least three years’ experience after achieving a full and relevant Level 3 qualification to be eligible for their role, as well as having a Level 3 assessor award and a teaching qualification.

Considering the ongoing recruitment and retention crisis in the early years sector – not to mention the enhanced demand for nursery places currently filtering through the system following the dramatic expansion in government-funded childcare – it is encouraging to see innovative ways are being looked at to drive new recruits into the sector and increase the number of qualified staff.

However, we must ensure – as with all sectors – that any training process is both thorough and regulated.

The current position in early years is that practitioners must have full and relevant qualifications. This is both vital to the learner’s career development and the overall success of the sector.

Let’s not allow flexibility to threaten quality and regulation

Under the new proposals, a practitioner’s existing knowledge, skills and experience would be assessed against the Level 3 early years educator criteria in order to take the experience-based route.

The practitioner would need to have Level 2 English and Paediatric First Aid qualifications and must also have worked in the sector for a minimum timeframe – suggested to be as low as six months – before they can be considered to be counted in the Level 3 ratios.

The staff member making a decision on their colleague’s experienced-based route status would be required to hold a Level 3 qualification themselves and could have been working in an early years setting for as little as six months.

The timeframes here would be a real concern because six months isn’t a long time for someone to be working in the sector to be making a judgement on a colleague’s competency.

While the new recruit is likely to have a qualification from another sector, there are concerns that by not engaging in an official Level 3 qualification in early years, they will be missing skills in vital areas including child development, legislation and regulation, and safeguarding for babies.

The other issue is that the competency judgments don’t pass from one nursery to another; If a practitioner moves on, they may be deemed Level 3-qualified in one nursery – but not another.

There is certainly a place for shorter training programmes than the traditional apprenticeship route. Adult education programmes implemented by combined authorities across the country are making a genuine difference, particularly for those who are currently unemployed or in low-wage jobs.

We’ve also seen shorter courses work very successfully, ranging from our apprenticeship accelerator Skills Bootcamps in early years, to training bus drivers in 16 weeks through our Route to Success programme.

But all of those courses have an additional context and are supplemented by further training and assessment either before or after.

My significant concern around the early years proposals in the current consultation is the lack of regulation and consistency it could bring, as well as undermining the incredible efforts many learners produce to secure qualifications.

More flexible and adaptable approaches to training are vital to engage learners and businesses. But let’s not allow flexibility to threaten quality and regulation.

Learners pushing themselves to the limits to secure official qualifications deserve more.

Why we’re backing our UK skills champions (and why you should too)

Whilst the publicity might not be on the same level as the Olympics, WorldSkills is a landmark event for those who study and deliver vocational and technical qualifications and training.

Held every 2 years, 1,500 competitors from more than 65 countries and regions around the world will travel to Lyon to compete in 62 skill categories. From Renewable Energy, Health and Social Care to Electronics; WorldSkills Lyon 2024 will give these young competitors the opportunity to showcase their skills and share their passions with the judges and hundreds of thousands of visitors.

This year, Pearson is sponsoring the UK team on their journey to Lyon. Why are we partnering with WorldSkills UK in 2024? In short, we believe the conversation about the future of jobs and skills has never been more important – or more urgent.

Mind the gap – what the data tells us

Pearson is already working to help employers and employees understand the challenges and opportunities ahead through our own Skills Outlook series, which provides vital insight into the immediate needs of the modern workforce to help employers and employees stay relevant and adaptable for the long term.

Recent findings include a deep dive into Power Skills – the human skills that will be most in demand in the future, feedback from employees on how they are preparing for the future of work and most recently a global look at the impact of generative AI on the workforce.

Last year we also published our own Pearson Skills Map of England. Looking at nine regions, we explored which jobs are expanding and declining across different sectors. We also looked at the current skills in demand from employers, as well as those growing in importance. The vision being that if we know that regional workforces are facing significant technological change, localised insights can help us to navigate this.

The Skills Outlook findings give us a glimpse into a possible future. But that future is not decided. The insights give us a chance to shape outcomes. And this means that all is still to play for. The data tells us that people can improve their employment prospects by acquiring the right skills. This is only going to happen if we raise the profile of skills and the vocational learning route.

A future for every learner

The WorldSkills movement promotes and celebrates the world’s most technically skilled young people. One of the event’s key missions is to gather the latest global best practice in skills – insight that we can all use to build better qualifications and progression routes for every kind of learner.

Our BTEC qualification alone has been providing learners with a clear route into employment and further and higher education for 40 years. But the world of work is constantly changing. In response, all learning providers must evolve their products and services to best meet the needs of educators, learners, and employers.

WorldSkills champions and shines a light on emerging skills – the ones employers say they really want – and gathers data on how to execute them well. Pearson is actively developing qualifications in subjects like sustainability and robotics through its BTEC and Apprenticeship programmes – some of the very best practices that will be showcased in Lyon this September.

The power of recognition

The WorldSkills competition, above all, is about recognition. And recognition is powerful. As an awarding organisation, we are at the heart of recognising academic achievement. But events that champion and celebrate skills excellence are rarer.

Pearson is passionate about raising the profile of skills and inspiring the next generation to consider a vocational route. We are passionate about employer engagement and helping employers develop a talent pipeline so they can grow their businesses. We are passionate about increasing awareness and recognition of the skills agenda with our politicians and policymakers, and we are passionate about promoting skills-based learning – wherever it happens in the world.

The Olympic motto translates as “Faster, Higher, Stronger – Together.” Events such as WorldSkills give us the opportunity to come together to promote the skills agenda and take vocational and technical education higher. The faster we do that – the more quickly our economies, our businesses and the workforce of tomorrow will benefit.

Learn more about our partnership with WorldSkills UK

Land-based college retains ‘outstanding’ Ofsted grade

A specialist sports and land-based college in Gloucester has received its second consecutive ‘outstanding’ Ofsted result.

Hartpury College was handed the top rating by Ofsted in all areas late last month, in a report that also lauded the college’s ‘strong’ contribution to meeting local skills needs.

The college was first handed an ‘outstanding’ grade in 2009, and after a period under a grade two ‘good’ rating, achieved the top rating once more in 2018.

“Retaining our outstanding rating is testament to the dedication and hard work of our staff, whose passion for what they do creates a dynamic learning environment for our students,” said Andy Collop, principal of Hartpury College.

The college at the time of inspection had around 2,000 learners aged 16 to 18 on level 2 and 3 programmes, 700 of which live on campus. It also had a small cohort of adults studying higher education courses and under 50 apprentices at the college.

Inspectors praised learners’ behaviour and participation in extracurricular activities and “high-quality” work placements to improve their skills and confidence.

They added that staff are “highly inspirational” for learners and apprentices and apply curriculums “very effectively” so they build their knowledge, skills, and behaviours securely over time.

The report also commended the college’s provision of careers information such as agriculture learners receiving talks from organisations specialising in livestock genetics, nature conservation, crop and grain marketing.

Additionally, inspectors applauded the college’s achievement rate of learners, apprentices and adults.

The report found nearly all learners successfully completed their courses. The majority of level 2 learners with high needs move onto level 3 programmes, nearly all adults on higher education courses gain a place at university, and apprentices are “highly valued” by their employers.

In 2023, 98 per cent of A-level students passed their courses, while BTEC diploma students achieved an overall 99 per cent pass rate. The college added that 97 per cent of students progressed into employment, university or further study last year.

Hartpury College was found to make a strong contribution to meeting industry skills needs through staff working with business representatives such as the Federation of Small Businesses to understand the needs of employers.

College leaders were praised for investing in capital and physical resources to meet gaps in digital skills in agriculture as identified by the Local Enterprise Partnership and the Local Skills Improvement Plan.

“This is such an important aspect of what we do and really does reflect how well our offer aligns with skills requirements related to current and future job toles in support of the local, regional, and national economy,” said deputy principal Claire Whitworth.

The watchdog said managers provide a broad range of continuous professional development for staff, which is linked to the identified areas of improvement.

For example, agriculture and animal care staff carry out training in rough terrain telehandlers, cross-cutting chainsaw operation and nutritional management for dogs. Workers also learn how to deal with learners with SEND and high needs.  

“Teachers of learners with high needs build their skills very well over time, taking account of their individual needs and preferred learning strategies,” the report said.

Lastly, Ofsted said that governors were supporting and challenging leaders well as understand the detail of curriculum developments and how well curriculum areas are performing.

Young people’s voices ought to be heard in education reform

The Baker Dearing Educational Trust recently published an independent assessment of University Technical Colleges (UTC), the technical education secondary schools that we support.

The assessment, titled ‘Powering the Engine of Opportunity’ and produced by education think tank ImpactEd included a number of very positive findings about the UTC programme that we are, naturally, very happy about.

However, the most interesting part of the research and the part that has given us the most food for thought is ImpactEd’s work with student focus groups.

During these sessions, students said they wanted work experience during Key Stage 4 to help prepare for more advanced learning, explaining: “If we have work experience now, we’ll be prepared for it in Year 12 and 13.”

One Year 11 student also discussed how her UTC inspired her to go against gender stereotypes in technical fields. Unsure what career path to follow, she reports that coming into a UTC, experiencing what engineering is like and what employee engagement was on offer in the sector “helped me want to become an engineer and show everyone that girls can also do it”.

These focus groups, along with the data from the annual student surveys that Baker Dearing carries out, have revealed an enormous appetite among students for greater employer involvement in education. Students also expressed a strong desire to know more about university alternatives such as apprenticeships.

All of which is good news for technical education providers and has encouraged our efforts to establish a pilot of UTC Sleeves, which would deliver the employer engagement opportunities and technical education curriculum of a UTC within a mainstream school.

Yet, as the focus groups demonstrate, young people have their own views on education and ought to be respected as stakeholders in their own right, independent of other stakeholders such as teachers or employers.

Young people ought to be respected as stakeholders in their own right

They ought to be directly consulted on education reforms, those that are being planned and those that are already underway. This includes Labour’s promised curriculum review, the Conservatives’ plans for the Advanced British Standard and ongoing changes to Ofsted inspections.

If we do, we’ll find students’ engagement with T Levels is worthy of recognition. ASCL’s new general secretary, Pepe Di’Iasio told this publication earlier this month that he’s not convinced T Levels are the “only answer” going forward. Yet many students think T Levels are the right answer.

Zaeem Basit, The Leigh UTC’s director of T Levels says students there “love” the new courses because they can focus on a subject that they are passionate about. Jannath, who recently completed a Digital T Level there, concurs. Previously studying several different subjects, she switched to T Levels when she realised that it was mainly focused on computer science – and hasn’t looked back.

Industry placements, which many providers recognise the value of but which they struggle to deliver, are also greatly valued by students. Ahana, who studied the Design T Level at Thomas Telford UTC, told us that during her industry placement, she went on site visits and worked on multiple projects, enthusing: “You don’t get to see that in class”.

My take-away: Government and other policymakers should routinely make use of student focus groups.

Baker Dearing is supporting the UTC Young Women’s Network, a board of female students who have provided a focus group for our external partners to gather feedback on outreach work. This group and the ImpactEd research clearly demonstrate why the government, regulators, representative bodies and think tanks should make greater use of student focus groups in their research and policy development.

They may be surprised by the results, but they will come to understand that young people often have uniquely well-informed perspectives on their own education.

But more than that, they will be giving young people the chance  – one they will genuinely value – to be involved in the decisions that affect their education and their futures. And what better way to ‘power the engine of opportunity’ can there be than to give them a voice?

WorldSkills Lyon 2024:  How we’ll set a new ambition for UK skills

Having just passed my 10-year anniversary at WorldSkills UK I have had the opportunity to see again and again the transforming power of FE. I have witnessed the development of young people and heard the belief from employers that highly-skilled young people are the answer to many of their workforce challenges.

Yet the most recent Youth Voice Census from Youth Employment UK shows that young people are still twice as likely to consider going to university than picking an apprenticeship. For most of us there continues to be a disconnect between our experience of FE and how the sector is viewed by the public.

I am a strong believer that to alter the culture around apprenticeships and technical vocational training, we need to invest in both the perception and reality of skills in the UK. We need to create excitement around these career choices and the successes they can lead to.  And we must do so while ensuring at the same time that the mechanisms and innovations are put in place to raise standards in training programmes so that employers can better compete nationally and internationally. 

This exact approach is personified in Team UK, a group of ordinary young people achieving extraordinary things.  Just like our sporting Olympians, they are pushing themselves to break through barriers everyday as they train for the toughest skills competitions in the world, demonstrating excellence in their skill.

We must celebrate their achievements, while using their world-beating performances to set a new ambition for skills in this country. And with Pearson as Team UK’s official partner, we believe WorldSkills Lyon 2024 gives us the perfect opportunity to do both. 

So, as we prepare for the competition, we have three priorities to play our part to raise standards, champion skills and empower young people. 

First, we will be shining a spotlight on the individual members of Team UK and the teams behind them: their Training managers, their training providers and their employers.  We are asking you to join us in celebrating our ‘skilled’ heroes. By sharing their inspirational stories of achievements, resilience and setbacks we can excite young people, from all backgrounds, about their career choices and opportunities.  

We can empower young people to expect nothing short of world-class training

Second, we’ll be gathering international best practice, using our network of 86 WorldSkills member countries to understand the latest techniques and training methodologies, and sharing these insights across the sector.

We have already made great strides in embedding world-class teaching and learning through our Centre of Excellence, in partnership with NCFE, and through our work with IFATE where we’re helping to update existing occupational standards and develop new ones in line with global standards.  The WorldSkills UK Centre of Excellence is free to join and is a growing network of organisations committed to delivering excellence for their learners.

Third, we need to use the focus on global skills development at WorldSkills to help meet rapidly changing employer needs in existing and emerging industries. As an international learning company, Pearson understands the importance of global standards in cutting edge industries, so we are delighted to have their support for Team UK to enter the renewable energy and additive manufacturing competitions for the first time.

By using insights from Lyon, we will continue to champion, promote and develop the skills young people need and employers are crying out for.

As the country gets behind our sporting Olympians in Paris, we must celebrate our skill Olympians in Lyon. Working together, we can empower young people to expect nothing short of world-class training to launch their careers. 

In doing so, we will set a new ambition for skills, one that focuses on excellence, to drive investment, jobs and economic growth across the UK. 

FE Week, the media partner of Team UK will be keeping you up to date with all the latest news as the team prepare for WorldSkills Lyon 2024.

Team UK for WorldSkills Lyon 2024 revealed

More than 30 of the UK’s most talented young skilled professionals have been selected to compete at WorldSkills Lyon later this year.

The 31-strong team of young apprentices and students will battle against their global counterparts in 27 disciplines including cyber security, digital construction and hairdressing in the “skills Olympics” competition in France this September.

The young skills champions will fly out just hours after the Olympic flame for this year’s summer Olympics is dimmed in Paris.

They will join around 1,500 other young people from 65 countries to win gold, silver and bronze medals across 62 different skills competitions.

Ben Blackledge, chief executive of WorldSkills UK, which trains and selects competitors from all four nations, said: “WorldSkills Lyon 2024 – think Olympic Games – where the prize is the world-class skills that UK employers are crying out for.  

“The UK’s participation in the ‘skills Olympics’ will provide vital insights to ensure we can develop our apprenticeship and training programmes, to make them truly world-class.”

The team has been selected from a cohort of 94 skilled young people forming Squad UK. Squad members have been subjected to an 18-month intensive training programme to prepare them for the global competition.

Some of the squad were selected to take part in last year’s EuroSkills competition in Gdańsk, Poland, and took home nine medals, including one gold and two bronze.

EuroSkills Gdansk 2023, Opening ceremony
Photo: Jacek Sadowski / WorldSkills Europe

Meet the team

Charlotte Lloyd, an apprentice who works at Reds Hair Company and won bronze at EuroSkills, said she cried when she heard she got into Team UK to compete in hairdressing in Lyon.

Charlotte Lloyd, won bronze in hairdressing at EuroSkills, is in Team UK

“I have done over 800 hours in training over three years – it’s a long process, and I’m still learning,” she told FE Week.

“I am aiming for a top-three finish at the world finals in Lyon.”

Meanwhile, Simonas Brasas and Mikhaela Rain Roy are jointly representing the UK in Industry 4.0.

Rain Roy is studying robotics at Middlesex University whilst Brasas has a BTEC in engineering from Barking and Dagenham College and is studying at Kingston University.

Brasas said: “I still can’t quite believe it.  This is a very demanding multi-skilled discipline, being able to proceed further is going to be quite interesting now.  We can’t wait.” 

Rain Roy added: “This is definitely a life-changing moment for me.”

All members of Team UK will undergo an Olympic-style training regime, overseen by their training managers in their respective skills to prepare for the intense week of competition.

“You are so invested in the students, I have seen them grow for the last four years, to become competent and confident competitors, so driven,” said Karla Kosch, a training manager in Robot Systems Integration and a lecturer at Northern Regional College.

Skills minister Luke Hall said: “Best of luck to our remarkably talented competitors at this summer’s ‘skills Olympics’. 

“WorldSkills is an excellent opportunity to prove on the global stage that we have built a world class skills and apprenticeship system. I am hoping for a podium sweep from our apprentices and students in Lyon.”

Lead-up to Lyon

The last WorldSkills competition was scheduled to take place in Shanghai, China in 2021, but was delayed to the following year and subsequently cancelled due to the pandemic restrictions in the country at the time.

Mikhaela Rain Roy and Simonas Brasas are competing in Industry 4.0 in WorldSkills Lyon

Instead, a special edition was held in late 2022, where 15 countries from the WorldSkills global network hosted skills competitions across 26 cities, two of which were in Wales (Cardiff and Wrexham).

Team UK finished in tenth place that year and achieved its best ever fourth-place finish in digital skills where they finished above Germany and China.

Shanghai will now host WorldSkills 2026.

WorldSkills Lyon 2024, the 47th WorldSkills Competition, will take place from September 10 to 15.

Earlier this year, education giant Pearson was announced as the official partner of Team UK for WorldSkills Lyon.

FE Week is the official media partner for WorldSkills UK and Team UK.