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WorldSkills national finalists

Group of WorldSkills students and staff

Daniel Cobzariu has won a silver medal in the website development competition in the WorldSkills UK National Finals.

Daniel was representing Bedford College, part of The Bedford College Group, where he studied from the age of 16, progressing to a Level 5 HND qualification before going on to a top up degree in computer science at the University of Hertfordshire.

He also competed at the WorldSkills UK National Finals in 2022 when he won a bronze.

“I hope to compete again next year to try and win a gold medal,”

said Daniel now aged 22.

WorldSkills Student standing by Computing sign.
Student standing next to Computing sign.
WorldSkills student in classroom.

Great opportunities for students

Joining Daniel at the competition were current students of Bedford College Computing Department.

Tom Hickey competed in the IT Support Technician category and Roan Price in the website development competition. Bedford College was the only organisation to have two students competing in the website development national final.

Tom, aged 17 from Eynesbury, Cambs is a former Bedford School student.

He said:

“I had never done anything like this competition before so it was a great opportunity.”

Roan, aged 17 who attended Wootton School said:

“It was a useful experience.”

Roan was the youngest competitor to get through to the National Final in website development.

Exceptional talent

The WorldSkills National Finals Competitions took place in Manchester. More than 6,000 young people register to take part in the WorldSkills UK competitions, but only the most talented get through to the UK finals.

Speaking about the WorldSkills Govt Skills Minister Robert Halfon said:

“I would like to congratulate all the competitors in the UK WorldSkills final.  They have done an amazing job showcasing their exceptional talent. They are all winners in my eyes for choosing a pathway that will build their skills and career potential, allowing them to climb the skills ladder of opportunity.”

Ben Blackledge, Chief Executive of WorldSkills UK said:

“This is a life-changing moment for these young people. They are the new generation of high flyers that will give UK employers a competitive edge. Our finals not only celebrate the best in young talent, but also provide a vital opportunity to see how skill development in the UK stacks up both domestically and against our international neighbours.”

Group of WorldSkills students and staff

Outstanding teaching

The photo shows Daniel, Tom and Roan with their Tutor, Christian Núnez Fuentes.

Christian Núnez Fuentes is famous UK-wide as an example of outstanding modern teaching in Further Education (FE).  He has been featured in the Guardian newspaper and other platforms.

Said Christian:

“We have some excellent students here who thrive our specialist computing department and go on to some great careers.”

Catering

Central Beds College student James Whelan made it to the WorldSkills National Finals.

The Catering team at CBC are no strangers to national recognition.

Chef Lecturer Andrew Cluskey and team received a special award at the annual meeting of Craft Guild of Chefs at The Hilton Waldorf in London earlier in the year.

CBC has professional standard kitchens and equipment and hosts a range of events – like the British Culinary Championships which were staged at the Kingsway campus in Dunstable.

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