Chloe Robinson takes silver medal at WorldSkills UK final

17-year-old Chloe Robinson has returned triumphant from WorldSkills UK 2017 where she was rewarded with a silver medal for Restaurant Service following an intense three-day skills competition.

Chloe, who is currently training for a Level 3 Professional Cookery qualification at Scarborough TEC, represented the college at The Skills Show, held at Birmingham NEC, where she competed against other young finalists from across the UK.

Worldskills UK is a partnership between businesses, education and Governments that accelerates young people’s careers giving them the best start in work and life through skills competitions that test their skills against other young people.

Chloe was originally entered for the competition by Paula Truelove, Programme Leader for Level 1 Hospitality & Catering, who believed Chloe was an ideal candidate to make the final. Paula said: “I asked for volunteers from the group and we whittled it down to three students, including Chloe, who we put forward for the regional competition. Chloe did really well from the beginning.”

Following the announcement of Chloe winning the silver medal she has been chosen to take part in training to become a possible contender in the UK squad for WorldSkills Europe, being held in Budapest in 2018. Chloe said:

“I was very shocked but proud to win the silver medal.  I have put a lot of work into training for the competition so to be honoured with a medal was very humbling.

“I’ve been coming in extra days at college, meeting up with Paula, and any free time I’ve had I’ve been doing extra research and doing anything I possibly could to prepare myself.

“For the final I had to create my own mocktails, memorise certain cocktails and learn napkin folds and table folding.  I then had to learn several flambé dishes off by heart.  I took one day at a time and focused on what I was working on otherwise it would have been too much pressure.”

“To get through to Budapest would be unbelievable.  When I started this I never expected to get this far.  It’s all very new but I’m definitely very excited.”

Paula Truelove, who worked with Chloe to perfect the skills needed to be successful in UK final, added: “Chloe is a shining example of what a young person can do when they put their mind to it.  She has worked very hard to master the necessary skills to do well in the competition and it has been brilliant to watch her develop over the time we have been working together.

“I’m looking forward to seeing Chloe’s skills develop even further now, she has such a bright future ahead of her.”