Recently, our students proudly represented the College during the KFE4Skills finals, confidently showcasing their talents, developing essential perseverance and professional skills.
KFE4Skills is an annual skills competition held across three Colleges covering Kent and Medway, including MidKent College, North Kent College and East Kent Colleges Group.
Students from all three Colleges compete with winners receiving an exclusive KFE4Skills medal and a certificate.
Finalists can be selected to enter the regional and national WorldSkills UK competitions as a representative of Kent Further Education (KFE).
This year KFE4Skills was split into three categories; Creative Industries, Commercial Industries and Trade Industries, each hosted by a different campus; EKC Canterbury College, North Kent College Tonbridge Campus and MidKent College Maidstone Campus.
Creative Industries
EKC Canterbury College | Tuesday 3 March
Our Inclusive Learning department impressed judges as they took part in the boccia competition. With their skill and determination, they received one silver medal and two bronze medals. It was a pleasure to see the enjoyment on the students faces as they watched their balls roll to victory!
Passionate photographer, Hazel, competed in the photography category and was excited to take part. When she was given the brief to photograph a product, she immediately knew what she wanted to capture – oil paints. Full of ideas, she experimented with complementary colours and sweeping strokes of paint to create an eye-catching composition.
Speaking about the competition and her reasons for returning to College, Hazel said: “I’m happy with what I created. It’s been a real learning curve – a year ago, I would never have seen myself here. College has been a second chance at life. I studied art as a teenager and loved it, but after working in social care for 30 years, I was ready for a change.
“Today has been fantastic. The skills I practised, such as working to a brief and thinking creatively, are things I’ll take forward into my career as a photographer.”
Commercial Industries
NKC Tonbridge Campus | Wednesday 4 March
On Wednesday, we headed over to Tonbridge for the Professional and Commercial Services competition. This saw learners competing in various categories including Beauty Therapy, Culinary Arts, Hairdressing and Media Makeup: Body.
Hairdressing student, Lydia, amazed judges during her bridal styling hairdressing competition. Her skills, technique and ability to work under pressure secured her the coveted gold medal.
Trade Industries
MidKent College Maidstone Campus | Thursday 5 March
To close out the KFE4SKILLS competitions, the Trade Industries competition was held at MidKent College’s Maidstone Campus. Our students competed in Automotive, Plumbing and Carpentry.
Finalist in the Automotive category, Ethan, was excited to take part. When he received the brief for a five-hour round-robin style challenge, he instantly felt ready to put his skills to the test.
Methodical and focused, he worked through each task with precision, diagnosing faults, carrying out repairs, and demonstrating the practical abilities he has developed throughout his course.
During the day, he said of KFE4Skills: “It’s been a great day. Opportunities like this don’t come around often, especially as I’m finishing my course in four months. It feels like a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and I’m feeling confident about it.”
Deputy CEO’s thoughts
Victoria Copp-Crawley, Deputy CEO of East Kent Colleges Group, was the host of the first event at EKC Canterbury College. When asked about the importance of KFE4Skills she told us: “Our collaboration with North Kent College and Mid Kent College is so important to us. It really gives us opportunities for our students to work together. It’s a real team effort but it’s about showcasing skills and the amazing talent we have in Kent.
“Our students benefit from skills competitions as they compete at local level, group level and at KFE level. This helps them showcase their skills, showcase their talent and it also builds their confidence. For me the most important thing is that students are proud today of what they’ve achieved and what they’ve done.”
Full list of EKC Broadstairs College’s KFE4SKILLS winners below:
| Placement | Competition | Winner |
| Gold | Hairdressing | Lydia |
| Silver | Boccia | Entry Level 1 – Inclusive Learning students |
| Bronze | Boccia | Entry Level 2 – Inclusive Learning students |
| Boccia | Entry Level 3 – Inclusive Learning students |
Throughout the KFE4SKILLS competitions East Kent College Group students collectively won 18 gold medals, 16 silver medals, and 10 bronze medals.
Congratulations to our hard-working students!
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