Forty-one young people with learning difficulties and disabilities will compete for medals in the final of the Inclusive Skills Competitions on November 18.
Skills competitions are well established in mainstream Further Education and a few years ago Natspec, Derwen College and (what was then) North Warwickshire and Hinkley College, recognised there was no opportunity for people with learning difficulties and disabilities to take part and enjoy.
Working together, a series of competitions was established: the Inclusive Skills Competitions. The competitions build links between colleges and local and national businesses to showcase the skills of young people with learning difficulties and disabilities.
These days the competitions are open to people of all ages who are working up to level 1 and have recently been in education. WorldSkills UK are now part funding the competitions, and for the past two years Inclusive Skills have featured at the Skills Show.
Natspec is leading the initiative and, together with other further education colleagues and WorldSkills UK, the aim is to have a fully branded suite of WorldSkills UK Inclusive Skills competitions in 2018.
“Working in partnership with Natspec is part of our commitment to ensure that as many learners as possible have access to competition activity,” says Dr Neil Bentley, from WorldSkills UK.
The Skills Show is a free event so why not join us as we support our aspirational competitors and showcase the talent that employers are all too often missing out on.