Care challenge for Sheffield College students

Competitors will work to a set brief, and demonstrate their skills in a live competition environment involving role play, and drawing on clinical and theoretical knowledge, at Shipley College in West Yorkshire on June 30th.

Georgia and Dawn are completing their first year of a BTEC Extended Diploma in Health and Social Care (Health Sciences), equivalent to three A Levels, at The Sheffield College’s Hillsborough campus on Livesey Street.

Both students plan to go on to university as their aim is to qualify as midwives when they finish their two-year course. As part of their current college qualification, they must complete work experience. They are volunteering over 18 months at the Jessop Wing maternity unit, part of Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, for up to one day a week.

Georgia said: “I am so pleased to have been selected for WorldSkills UK, which will boost my experience. I love my course and the fact that I am learning skills directly relevant to the career I want to pursue. I knew I wanted to become a midwife a long time ago and decided to study for an extended diploma, after completing my A Levels at school, to further my knowledge and experience.

“For me, a vocational qualification is a much more effective route to university and midwifery. The work experience has also given me a great insight into the profession and made me even more determined to succeed,” added Georgia, who also volunteers as a Brownie leader of the 145 Hallam Brownie pack.

Dawn added: “Being selected for WorldSkills UK is a great opportunity. I really enjoy my course and can’t wait to train to become a midwife. It’s an amazing experience being a volunteer at the Jessop Wing and talking with new mothers, shadowing staff and seeing newborn babies. It has confirmed to me that I want a career in health and social care.”

WorldSkills UK covers a wide range of sectors from aeronautical engineering, automotive technology and beauty therapy to butchery, graphic design and media make-up. The competitions use real work projects to test competitors’ knowledge and applied skills, as they embark on their careers. They build attributes valued by employers including teamwork, time management and working under pressure.

Heather Smith, Principal, The Sheffield College, said: “This is an outstanding achievement by Georgia and Dawn. I am sure they will represent the College and the city very well. I wish them the very best of luck in the competition.”

Places are still available on full-time courses starting in September. Visit http://www.sheffcol.ac.uk. Call 0114 2602600. Find out how alumni have got on in their careers by visiting https://www.youtube.com/c/thesheffieldcollege