Construction and Engineering Students Taste ‘Olympic’ Success
Coleg Llandrillo’s Construction and Engineering students got the opportunity to test their skills against fellow students at the recent ‘Trade Olympics & Trades Show’, which took place at the Rhyl campus.
Dozens of students from trade areas including Motor Vehicle Services & Repair, Vehicle Body Repair, Plumbing, Brickwork, Tiling, and Welding showcased their talents in tense battles across the campus in order to claim gold, silver and bronze medals, together with a range of fantastic prizes donated by industrial partners such as GE Tools, Makita or Roger Jones.
The ‘Trade Olympics’ provided the Rhyl learners with much-needed experience in a competitive environment. The students were very much inspired by what they have achieved and gave them the confidence to enter future Welsh, national and international competitions.
The students also got the opportunity to see the site of the future £11m Engineering Centre of Excellence at the Rhyl campus, which got the official go-ahead by Denbighshire County Council on the day of the competition.
Running parallel to the competitions, over a dozen companies took part in a trade show to enable learners from Rhyl and other Coleg Llandrillo campuses to see some of the rapidly-changing developments in construction and engineering tooling. Other businesses were on campus to provide learners with information on apprenticeship opportunities.
After much deliberation by the engineering and construction staff, the gold medals were presented by Coleg Llandrillo principal, Lawrence Wood, to the worthy winners: Owen Healy from Llandudno (Motor Vehicle); Harvey Gray from Denbigh (Plumbing); Jacob Harley from Trefnant (Pathway to Construction Skills); Lewis Hobson and Charlie McCausland (both from Prestatyn - Brickwork x 2 groups); Connor Clarke from Kinmel Bay (Welding & Fabrication), and Boyd Williams from Rhyl (Vehicle Body Repair)
Salah Berdouk, assistant principal - Computing & Creative Industries, Construction and Engineering, said: “The Trade Olympics was a joint project led by Coleg Llandrillo and supported by industry supplier and main sponsor GE Tools, to inspire our learners, provide them with a taste of competition, and give them a day to remember.
“The learners - who have only been studying on their respective courses for a matter of weeks - rose to the challenge and surpassed all of our expectations. Staff were impressed by the high quality of the work produced by all competitors. The students all thoroughly enjoyed it and are looking forward to the next opportunity to showcase their skills - whether that be at national and international competitions, or in the workplace.
“Thanks again to GE Tools and the other companies that supported the event, generously supplying prizes for the winners. They even went to the extent of giving a prize to all our students that took part on the day!”
Chris Owen, managing director of GE Tools, said: “We had a brilliant day and there was a fantastic atmosphere among the learners and industry representatives. We had an incredible response, with hundreds of people taking part and attending, so we thank them for their support.”
“We are fortunate to have some of the best colleges in the country on our doorstep, with skilled lecturers and outstanding facilities. So for the students, there is no better platform for them to go on and be successful.”
For more information on Construction and Engineering courses, or any other courses at Coleg Llandrillo’s Rhyl campus, telephone 01745 354 797.
Email: enquiries.rhyl@gllm.ac.uk
Web: www.gllm.ac.uk
Dozens of students from trade areas including Motor Vehicle Services & Repair, Vehicle Body Repair, Plumbing, Brickwork, Tiling, and Welding showcased their talents in tense battles across the campus in order to claim gold, silver and bronze medals, together with a range of fantastic prizes donated by industrial partners such as GE Tools, Makita or Roger Jones.
The ‘Trade Olympics’ provided the Rhyl learners with much-needed experience in a competitive environment. The students were very much inspired by what they have achieved and gave them the confidence to enter future Welsh, national and international competitions.
The students also got the opportunity to see the site of the future £11m Engineering Centre of Excellence at the Rhyl campus, which got the official go-ahead by Denbighshire County Council on the day of the competition.
Running parallel to the competitions, over a dozen companies took part in a trade show to enable learners from Rhyl and other Coleg Llandrillo campuses to see some of the rapidly-changing developments in construction and engineering tooling. Other businesses were on campus to provide learners with information on apprenticeship opportunities.
After much deliberation by the engineering and construction staff, the gold medals were presented by Coleg Llandrillo principal, Lawrence Wood, to the worthy winners: Owen Healy from Llandudno (Motor Vehicle); Harvey Gray from Denbigh (Plumbing); Jacob Harley from Trefnant (Pathway to Construction Skills); Lewis Hobson and Charlie McCausland (both from Prestatyn - Brickwork x 2 groups); Connor Clarke from Kinmel Bay (Welding & Fabrication), and Boyd Williams from Rhyl (Vehicle Body Repair)
Salah Berdouk, assistant principal - Computing & Creative Industries, Construction and Engineering, said: “The Trade Olympics was a joint project led by Coleg Llandrillo and supported by industry supplier and main sponsor GE Tools, to inspire our learners, provide them with a taste of competition, and give them a day to remember.
“The learners - who have only been studying on their respective courses for a matter of weeks - rose to the challenge and surpassed all of our expectations. Staff were impressed by the high quality of the work produced by all competitors. The students all thoroughly enjoyed it and are looking forward to the next opportunity to showcase their skills - whether that be at national and international competitions, or in the workplace.
“Thanks again to GE Tools and the other companies that supported the event, generously supplying prizes for the winners. They even went to the extent of giving a prize to all our students that took part on the day!”
Chris Owen, managing director of GE Tools, said: “We had a brilliant day and there was a fantastic atmosphere among the learners and industry representatives. We had an incredible response, with hundreds of people taking part and attending, so we thank them for their support.”
“We are fortunate to have some of the best colleges in the country on our doorstep, with skilled lecturers and outstanding facilities. So for the students, there is no better platform for them to go on and be successful.”
For more information on Construction and Engineering courses, or any other courses at Coleg Llandrillo’s Rhyl campus, telephone 01745 354 797.
Email: enquiries.rhyl@gllm.ac.uk
Web: www.gllm.ac.uk
