WorldSkills UK is a charity and partnership between employers, education and governments set up to raise standards in apprenticeships and technical education to ensure more young people and employers succeed. The charity is part of a global movement of over 80 countries, supporting young people via competitions-based training, assessment and benchmarking, with members’ national teams testing their ability to achieve world-class standards in the, so called, biennial “skills olympics”
The applicants for APL competition were made up of apprentices and full-time students, who were put through two rounds of heats, where eventually a top eight were selected to go forward to compete for the title of WSUK Landscaping Champion 2023. The finalists then went on to build a 12m2 garden from including paving, decking, fencing, brickwork, lighting, water feature and planting.
The WSUK Landscaping Champion 2023 winners:
- Gold – Anna Mcloughlin College of Agriculture Food & Rural Enterprise (CAFRE) Greenmount Campus
- Silver – Aimee Copeland of CAFRE Greenmount Campus
- Bronze – Ceri Furber APL apprentice with APL member employer Gardenscapes UK
The Horticulture Foundation Skills competition enables young students with learning disabilities to showcase their work skills and growing independence. Competitors had to prepare four planting beds and plant up with a winter theme, and present their work to the judges.
The Foundation Skills 2023 winners:
- Gold – Rhys Rapado-Evans, of Elidyr Communities Trust
- Silver – Anthony Davies, of Pembrokeshire College
- Joint bronze – Meaghan Gwillim, of Bridgend College and Joshua Miles of NPTC Group.
Fran Barnes, Chief Executive of the HTA said: “Congratulations to the winners at the APL WorldSkills final. They all did a fantastic job showcasing their exceptional talent and I am so impressed at the level of expertise shown. It is really encouraging to see the next generation embarking on a career in landscaping”.