We believe that skills competitions offer significant benefits to all those who enter and support them. This is reinforced in the government‘s skills agenda and supported by the Leitch Review of Skills.

For competitors and their tutors

Competitors and their trainers and tutors experience the most immediate positive impact of competitions:

• They have a common worthwhile goal that takes them beyond the normal expectation of education and training programmes
• They are able to share a love of mastery in their skill
• They experience the excitement of competing with all its highs and lows
• Together they get inside their skill and gain or rediscover a deeper understanding of quality than they would normally share
• They grow in mutual respect by pursuing a valuable shared purpose

For the competitor there’s also the prospect of recognition for their exceptional skills, while for the trainer or tutor there’s professional pride and evidence of continuing professional development.

For HE/FE institutions:

For colleges, universities and work-based learning providers the benefits are great too. Competitions:

• inject dynamism and excitement into training activities
• spur trainees and apprentices to show what they can do
• test and prove the quality of training programmes
• demonstrate a confidence in the quality of processes and output
• generate material for training, assessment and evidence of performance

Ofsted inspection reports often pick out involvement in skills competitions as evidence of striving for excellence.

Involvement in competitions can help raise the profile of HE/FE institutions. Whether hosting, sponsoring or indeed having a winning competitor at a regional, national or international level, getting involved in competitions is a great way to associate an educational institution with excellence and success.

For employers

For employers the involvement of their workforce in skills competitions can:

• Instill mutual pride in the job and the company
• Widen the options for growth and product choice by;
• differentiating the business from rivals
• demonstrating Corporate Social Responsibility
• developing and retaining staff
• check on performance and put benchmarks in place
• inject ambition and aspiration
• promote excellence in skills
• offer PR opportunities