Students from Scotland’s colleges have again topped the medal table in WorldSkills competitions in the 2024 UK National Finals which took place from 18-22 November.

The national awards ceremony took place at Manchester’s Bridgewater Hall on Friday, 22 November 2024. New College Lanarkshire won three gold, three silver and three bronze medals, and five students were also highly commended - gaining the college 32 medal points and first position in the table. North East Scotland College won one silver and one bronze medals, with Edinburgh College, Glasgow Kelvin College and UHI Moray also receiving medals. 

Students attended a special celebration in Edinburgh on 28 November to mark their success with Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills Jenny Gilruth meeting and congratulating the participants.

Dr Graeme Jackson, Interim CEO of Colleges Scotland, said: “I warmly welcome the news that Scotland’s colleges have yet again been successful in WorldSkills competitions, continuing the sector’s excellent track record in WorldSkills. I would like to offer my congratulations to each and every one of our competitors who have been outstanding, and I was delighted we were able to recognise their success, in addition to the success of Scotland’s competitors at WorldSkills Lyon 2024 in September, at the Homecoming Reception in Edinburgh with the Cabinet Secretary last week”.

“We know that participation in WorldSkills and associated competitions provides unique opportunities to bring world-class skills to apprentices and students at colleges in Scotland, which will also be key in addressing the needs of industry and supporting economic growth and transformation in Scotland”.

“It is initiatives such as WorldSkills that are vital to supporting a skills-led recovery, enabling Scotland’s colleges to work with other colleges across the UK in supporting more young people and their employers to succeed through the WorldSkills Centre of Excellence, whilst building on the consistent and considerable success that Scotland’s colleges have had across the WorldSkills competitions. The success of Scotland’s colleges in WorldSkills competitions is further evidence of the return on investment for Scottish Government into the sector, and I trust this will be recognised in the Budget announcement on Wednesday”.