A WELDING student from Wrexham has struck gold in a national competition.

Coleg Cambria student David Duncan, 22, won the gold medal in the final of Skills Competition Wales.

He said: “David said: “I’ve done other competitions in the past and did well in those. My first time competing and being judged by industry leaders was a nerve-wracking experience, but I wasn’t nervous this time round.”

Backed by the Welsh Government through the European Social Fund, Skills Competition Wales is a series of events held in colleges across the country to celebrate vocational skills.

David is an apprentice at Wrexham-based M&J services and takes a course at Coleg Cambria which will lead to an NVQ Level 3 diploma.

He competed against seven other students from across Wales in a series of welding challenges within a five-hour time period.

The competitors were tasked with producing different welding joints including a lap joint, butt joint and a tee fillet joint.

He said: “At M&J services they encourage us to produce high quality work within a tight time-frame, and this has helped me develop my skills and allowed me to work well under pressure – which was useful for the competition and for work in general.”

More than 50 Skills Competition Wales events are taking place this year, across a wide range of different vocations, from bricklaying and hairdressing to aeronautical engineering and culinary art.

The successful youngsters may be shortlisted for the UK squad to compete against the world’s most talented young people at the EuroSkills competition in Austria in 2020, or the WorldSkills international final in Shanghai in 2021.

Eluned Morgan, Welsh Government minister for Welsh language and lifelong learning, said: “Competitions like these are essential for establishing transferable skills for the future, and allow young people at the start of their careers, to flourish. They provide individuals from Wales with the opportunity to demonstrate their skills as well as the chance to compete on a national or even international level.”

“I would like to congratulate David on his brilliant achievement and wish him the best of luck in the next stage of the competition and I look forward to seeing him prosper in his future career.”