History has been made after two East Kent Colleges (EKC) Group students placed at the final of a national competition known as WorldSkills UK.
EKC Canterbury College second year Level 3 Graphic Design students Frankie Pettman and Sam White, said they were over the moon to be finalists at this year’s competition, and last week the pair took first and third place.
Frankie won a gold medal, and Sam won bronze. Frankie also made WorldSkills history after achieving a perfect score from the judges.
WorldSkills UK is an independent charity and a partnership between employers, education and governments. It supports young people across the world via competitions-based training, assessment, and benchmarking.
More than 400 talented apprentices and students got to the national final with Frankie and Sam reaching the last eight.
This year, the finalists competed in more than 40 skills such as 3D Digital Game Art, Additive Manufacturing, Welding, and Landscaping.
The final stage of the competition unfolded last week in Manchester. After receiving a brief on what they had to create at the start of the week, Frankie and Sam then had two days to get to work.
The brief was to create the branding for single slices of Chicago Town pizzas. Before getting to this stage of the competition, Frankie and Sam had to go through two branding rounds where they were tasked with making social media posts, logos, websites, and posters.
Last Friday, the competition drew to a close and the pair both proudly secured medals.
Speaking on the moment she found out she was a finalist, Frankie said: “I was with Sam when we found out we were both going together so that was really nice. It was quite crazy.
“It’s [the competition] a great piece of portfolio work, client work, and work experience.”
She added when she found out she got a perfect score, she couldn’t believe it.
Sam added: “WorldSkills is a really great thing that you can put on your CV and I think it’s a great opportunity because there’s no risk involved, you can just participate in it.
“I think it’s a really good opportunity for anyone in any industry. I remember seeing the list with the thousands of different competitions that they do, there’s something for most people that they could participate in.
“The College course is so amazing for setting you up for the industry straight after. It’s designed so that you’re ready to go straight into work and so you have that skill set.
“I’m over the moon to have won a medal – it was an amazing opportunity.”
Rob Black, Programme Director for Visual Arts at EKC Canterbury College, attended the competition with Frankie and Sam.
He said: “I’m so proud that not one, but two of our students have reached the final eight of the WorldSkills competition.
“For Frankie to win gold and Sam to win bronze is a huge achievement – we are so proud of them. They have both worked so hard and to achieve what they have in two days is incredible.
“The course that the pair are on has a strong vocational emphasis and introduces them to 2D, 3D and time-based subjects to realise their strengths.
“Frankie and Sam have used this to gain vital knowledge about the industry which I believe helped them reach the final of the competition.”
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