Young Web Designers in WorldSkills UK Final

Two computing students from City College Norwich are pitting their web design skills against the best in the country as they take part in the final of the WorldSkills UK Web Design competition.  The final is being held over two days in Milton Keynes, on the 1st and 2nd of July. 

Marcus Craske, 16, and Suzanne Fairhurst, 20, both from Norwich, were selected for the WorldSkills UK final following a qualifying competition in which they had to apply their web design knowledge and skills to create an entertainment web site that would appeal to young people. 

Marcus who is studying on the Advanced Diploma in IT and Suzanne who is taking the IT Practitioners National Diploma each had to put in hours of work in their own time in perfecting and testing their designs.  Their aim was to achieve a result that was user-friendly, fully compatible with different browsers, visually attractive and which met accessibility standards in terms of the layout, colours and fonts used.    

In order to reach this stage, the two students had to come through a competition held within the college.  Their preparations for the WorldSkills UK competition was helped when they were given the chance to spend a day with the college’s New Media Department, who designed the City College Norwich’s web site and are at the forefront of the latest developments in areas such as social media and virtual learning environments.

One of the two finalists, Marcus Craske said: “I think that taking part in the WorldSkills UK final is going to be a good experience, even if we don’t win. It is a chance to test our skills under pressure of having to complete a design brief in just 2 days”. 

Dick Palmer, Principal, City College Norwich said: “Skills competitions are a great way of recognising and celebrating excellence in vocational skills.  As a WorldSkills Champion I am delighted that Marcus and Suzanne have reached the final of the WorldSkills UK Web Design competition. This competition offers these students a great platform on which to demonstrate their skills and I wish them both the best of luck in the final".

Run annually, WorldSkills UK skills competitions aim to encourage people across the UK to excel in their vocational skill.  The Web Design competition has been designed to reflect the work role of a web designer and the standards that are expected within the industry.

The most successful competitors in the national final will be considered for selection to the shortlist for Squad and Team UK with the possibility of representing the nation at the world’s biggest international skills competition, WorldSkills, which is being held at ExCel London, from 5th-8th October 2011.

The biennial WorldSkills international competition is the largest vocational skills event in the world, where young people from 51 countries meet and compete in over 40 different skills, ranging from cabinet making to web design. The ultimate prizes are gold, silver and bronze medals.