9 March 2011

Wales-China Skills Exchange Success  

College students and staff are buzzing with new ideas on returning from the first ever China-Wales skills exchange that took place in the fastest growing city in the world: Chongqing, China.  

Ten Welsh students from six colleges across Wales worked alongside 40 of their Chinese peers from 12 of Chongqing’s colleges, learning from each other on specific work-related skills and showcasing their talents in engineering, construction, catering, digital media, hairdressing and beauty therapy.  

It was a fantastic learning experience for the Welsh delegation, which had been coordinated by ColegauCymru / CollegesWales and financed and supported by the British Council.  

Head of Creative Industries at Coleg Gwent, Hayley Wilce, who acted as joint coordinator of the Welsh skills exchange delegation on behalf of ColegauCymru, said: “The students were great ambassadors for Wales. They worked hard to demonstrate their skills to their Chinese counterparts and also learned a lot in return from the Chinese students’ demonstrations.  

“It was an eye-opener to see the creativeness of the Chinese, but also interesting to learn of their skills gaps. I gained a huge amount from this experience and I’m looking forward to being able to share my experiences and explore new ideas with college staff across Wales.”  

Hayley’s fellow coordinator, Darren Rodrigues, Engineering Programmes Manager at Gower College Swansea, said: “I feel great pride when reflecting on the skills roadshow in Chongqing. What was just an idea last October was made a reality last week. This was as a result of collaboration between colleges, ColegauCymru, the British Council and thereafter by an exceptional group of students who were supported by excellent staff.”  

Neath Port Talbot construction student Emily Evans said: “I am very grateful to ColegauCymru and Neath Port Talbot College for the opportunity to visit Chongqing. It was a very challenging and busy week that enhanced my educational and cultural experience. Now, I feel my career aspirations do not just lie in the UK but also abroad. Not only did I experience new surroundings I also made numerous friends, both British and Chinese.”  

Coleg Gwent engineering student Rhys Webb, 19, from Risca said: “Visiting Chongqing was a life-changing experience. It was such a busy place full of sky-scrapers and new industry. The visit was hard work and very challenging but also hugely rewarding. My horizons have opened. I now have so many new ideas about where my future might take me.”  

China is now the second largest economy in the world. It is hugely entrepreneurial and packed with cutting-edge industries. Chongqing – a city in the south west with a population of 7 million in a municipality of 31 million - has huge ambitions. It already produces one-third of all laptops in the world and one-third of all motorcycles in China. It is in addition aiming to be the world’s IT centre.  

Wales and its colleges have the potential to learn a lot from Chongqing and expand Welsh students’ views of their place in the world economy. The visit also provided the participating students with opportunities to make an impression on their Chinese hosts, experience the skills that are valued in China, and find out about booming Chinese industries first hand.  

Chongqing’s huge ambitions bring particular challenges. It is expanding on a scale unimaginable in Wales. It needs to integrate and train around 8 million migrant workers moving from the country to newly created jobs.   Hence it is keen to develop partnerships with Wales’ further education colleges to benefit from their solid track record in developing relevant vocational skills and their expertise in working with industry.  

Chief Executive of ColegauCymru / CollegesWales, John Graystone, said: “The skills exchange between Wales and China is just the beginning. We need to ensure that we can make the most of the exciting opportunities that this link between the colleges of Wales and Chongqing offers. Both countries have much to learn from one another.  

“Following on from the hugely successful Wales-China skills exchange, I am looking forward to working with colleges across Wales over the coming months to develop firm, productive and sustainable partnerships with our college peers in Chongqing for the benefit of our students.”

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Contact: Sylvia Davies on 029 2052 8384 or 07968 771913.  

Notes to editors:

1.     ColegauCymru / CollegesWales is the new name for fforwm. It is a national educational charity that represents all 21 further education (FE) colleges and institutions in Wales. Its mission is to raise the profile of further education with key decision-makers to improve opportunities for learners in Wales. For further information about ColegauCymru / CollegesWales, and the colleges it represents, visit www.colegaucymru.ac.uk or www.collegeswales.ac.uk

2.     The British Council Chongqing organised the programme and funded the visit. The programme also benefitted from the presence of the Welsh Assembly Government which has worked hard to develop close working partnerships between Wales and Chongqing.

3.     In addition to the skills exchange, senior-level meetings for the following representatives took place during the visit: college principals from Wales and China, British Council Southwest China, British Council Wales, Education Commission (Chongqing).  

skills exchange:

4.     ColegauCymru coordinated the visit in conjunction with British Council Chongqing and staff from the six participating FE colleges: Coleg Gwent, Neath Port Talbot College, Gower College Swansea, Coleg Llandrillo, Yale College Wrexham, Pembrokeshire College. The participating students represent a wide range of vocational areas including: beauty therapy, catering, construction, electronics, engineering and the media.
5.     The visit, funded by the British Council, took place in the first week of March 2011, coinciding with the Welsh Assembly Government-funded Wales Week and St David’s Day celebrations in Chongqing.
6.     The skills exchange grew out of a visit to Chongqing by International Managers from six FE colleges in Wales in October 2010.  

The Chongqing/Wales link:

7.     The Chongqing/Wales link was established in 2000 through the personal recommendation of Premier Wen Jiabao during his visit to Wales.
8.     The first Memorandum of Understanding between Chongqing and Wales was signed in 2006.
9.     A number of areas for potential collaboration were identified and there was a signing of a formal Cooperation Agreement in 2008.
10.  The relationship has gone from strength to strength and now embraces collaboration in economic development, environment and climate change, science and technology, forestry and agriculture, education, health, art and culture.  

Chongqing, China:

11.  Chongqing is located in South West China and is the largest of 4 municipalities in China with over 31 million people (7 million reside in the city).
12.  It is a modern city with more than 3,000 years of history and is called "Yu" for short; it is also known as Fog City and Mountain City. 
13.  It is 5,309 miles (as the crow flies) from London Heathrow to Chongqing City. 14.  It is currently undergoing a plan for urban and rural development up until 2020.