Among the winners were mother and daughter, Kerri Anne and Tiana Wright from Ballymena who are both studying NVQ Level 3 Nail Technology course at Ballymena. Third place in the Nail Technology competition was filled by Kaitlyn Sempey, who is also a NVQ Level 3 Nail Technology student at Ballymena.
There were two categories for Beauty Therapy students - make-up and massage. The winners of the make-up competition are all NVQ Level 2 Beauty Therapy students: 1st Teri Walker (Ballymena); 2nd Michaela Martin (Magherafelt) and 3rd Kylee Brett (Ballymena).
The winners of the massage competition are all NVQ Beauty Therapy with Massage students: 1st Leah Hanna (Ballymena); 2nd Anna Riberio (Newtownabbey); and 3rd Erica Cartmell (Ballymoney).
Sharon Eatwell, Curriculum Area Manager for Hair and Beauty at Northern Regional College explained why she encouraged students to take part in the skills competitions:
“WorldSkills competitions are widely recognised as the gold standard of skills excellence. They inspire competitors to challenge themselves and reach new heights, helping to turn their passion into a profession.
“Those selected for the inter-campus finals have shown exceptional levels of skill and creativity to get to this stage of the competition and now they have an opportunity to demonstrate their specialist skills and technical knowledge.
She continued: “This is the first year that the College’s beauty and nail students have taken part in the WorldSkills series of competitions, but we have followed the WorldSkills journey of students from other departments within the College and we would like to emulate their success at national level.”
Sharon added that a special word of thanks should go to the College’s teaching and support staff who ensured that the competitions, both at campus and inter-campus level, were successful and a great learning experience for our students. Thanks also to our judges and sponsors, Coco Rose, Make Up Pro Store, Salon Services and Nail Paradise Products for their support and encouragement.
“Without their help, these competitions wouldn’t have happened,” she said
Northern Regional College has an enviable track record in WorldSkills. In recent years, students have picked up medals across several categories, including Industrial Robotics, Carpentry, CNC and 3D Digital Games Art and Industrial Robotics.
In 2021, the College had a clean sweep in Industrial Robotics UK national finals, winning gold, silver and bronze medals. Last year, competitors representing the College won gold and bronze in the same category at the national finals. Two of the medal winners, Adam Kirkpatrick and Cameron Middleton were subsequently selected for Team UK and competed in the 2023 World finals in Luxembourg.