Pembrokeshire College's talented nail art students shone at the recent WorldSkills UK competitions coming away with both gold and bronze medals.

WorldSkills UK brought together the UK's most talented apprentices, employers and learners in a three-day Skills Show held at the NEC, Birmingham.

Nail Art students Oksana Cooper (seen right) and Kirsty Bushen represented the college at the high profile skills event along with beauty and complementary therapists from the college.

With a theme of 'The Midas Touch', Oksana's nail art design really did turn to gold as she received the highest mark in her category, beating off competition from finalists from across the UK. Fellow student Kirsty was close behind and secured bronze for her interpretation of the ancient Greek moral.

Nail Art tutor at the college, Michelle Jennings commented: "Competing at the WorldSkills competitions is an incredible experience for competitors. Being crowned the best of the best can open so many doors and opportunities. The girls worked tremendously hard to get through to the finals and truly deserved to come away with gold and bronze medals. Attending the Skills Show was an extraordinary experience and I hope the girls' success will inspire learners from across the college to compete in these competitions and let their skills shine. Oksana and kirsty are great ambassadors for the College."

During the three days of The Skills Show (November 15-17), over 500 people took part in 61 WorldSkills UK national competitions in skills ranging from Aeronautical Engineering through to Landscape Gardening. The competitors secured a place in the WorldSkills UK competitions after competing in regional heats throughout the UK earlier this year. The competitors battled it out to win gold, silver and bronze and ultimately be named the 'best of the best' in the UK at their chosen skill.

TV presenter Angelica Bell was on stage to hand out the medals to the winners at a glittering awards ceremony on Saturday, November 17, at the NEC, Birmingham.

Skills Minister Matthew Hancock attended the event and commented: "Congratulations to all of this year's winners. These are skills at their best. We celebrate and salute their skills. Vocational skills helped make the UK in generations past. And vocational skills will build Britain's future. I very much hope today's winners will inspire the stars of tomorrow."

Theo Paphitis, was patron of the Skills Show, and added: "Congratulations to the winners of this year's WorldSkills UK National Competition Finals. There has been some fantastic work produced and I hope this will show everyone how apprenticeships and vocational training can lead to worthwhile and valuable careers."

Winners from this year's cycle of WorldSkills UK competitions may now be eligible to compete for a place in Team UK for future WorldSkills competitions, which is the world's largest international skills competition. The next WorldSkills competition will take place from July 2-7 in Leipzig, Germany, next year. Members of Squad UK, many of whom competed at past WorldSkills UK competitions, are in training for WorldSkills Leipzig 2013.