FEDEC Skills Competitions
The Federation of Essex Colleges is delighted to confirm that member colleges will commence a series of inter-college skills competitions in the 2025/26 academic year as part of our "going for gold" strategy.
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This page sets out the details of the competitions including how to register, competition guidance, applicable rules, individual industry specifications and the competition
student registration portal. ​
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Good luck and huge thanks to everyone that has entered and to all the staff that have helped make it happen. We've had an amazing response to this inaugural FEDEC competition.
Background & Aims
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Competitions provide learners with a valuable opportunity to benchmark their skills at both national and international levels, while also enhancing their employability. To support this, Competition Week (week commencing 24th November 2025) will be introduced as a key stage in the student preparation journey. It will allow learners to develop their skills and mindset ahead of Competition Week (week commencing 26th January 2026).
Competition Week will serve as an intensive preparation period, delivered within at learners home colleges. It will align competition readiness with Life Skills and Progress tutorials, helping to build resilience, self-confidence, and employability. Relevant curriculum areas will work from a WorldSkills UK aligned brief and mark-scheme to prepare learners for Competition Week. These materials will have been reviewed and quality assured by FEDEC and the colleges' WorldSkills Quality & Standards Managers.
The aim is for each FEDEC college to take a the lead on at least one brief, mark scheme, and competition, acting as the lead/host institution. These resources will then be shared across all FEDEC colleges, ensuring a consistent and standardised approach to assessment during Skills Week.
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Each college will run Competition Week concurrently, with winners progressing to the inter-college Competition Week. Competition Week will be hosted by the lead/host colleges for each subject area, on a rotational basis (to be confirmed). This approach will allow lead/host colleges to showcase their facilities and collaborate with other FEDEC colleges in supporting WorldSkills UK applications for the March registration of interest and April 2026 entry.
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Guidance & Competition Specifications
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Competition specification links for each industry skill are available below. Additional guidance for competition locations and timings are available as a summary pdf via the red button - please make sure you check against the correct industry round. FEDEC's skills competitions are being held in line with WorldSkills UK specifications and are designed to help students to potentially prepare for regional and national WorldSkills UK competition rounds. Find out more about WorldSkills UK here.
The "Going for Gold" strategy timelines have been shared with each college's CEO / Principal, culminating in Competition Week, commencing from 26th to 30th January 2026. There will be a separate awards ceremony event for all rounds to be held on 30th January 2026.
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For competition queries click here.
Competition Locations:
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26th January 2026 - Colchester Institute - Plumbing at Braintree Campus
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27th January 2026 - Chelmsford College - Hairdressing and Beauty comps at Prince's Road Campus
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28th January 2026 - Harlow College - Electrical at Harlow Campus
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29th January 2026 - South Essex College Group - Bricklaying at Stephenson Road Campus, Engineering at Luckyn Lane Campus, Hospitality at Thurrock Campus, Digital at Basildon Campus and Science at Southend Campus
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30th January 2026 - USP College - Health & Social Care at SEEVIC Campus
Competition Registration Portal
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The registration portal below will open in December 2025. It should be used to register students onto each competition. Please ensure all required information is completed. Students should check spam / junk folders for communications from the portal's automated messaging system.
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The registration portal is under testing between 18th August to 8th September. Please do not attempt to register before the official registration opening. Any non-test registrations will be deleted during this period.
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