Kirsty Bushen, aged 25, from Haverfordwest, has won an impressive array of medals, prizes and certificates in her pursuit of nail art excellence; continuing to boost the outstanding skills of Pembrokeshire College's Beauty and Complementary Therapies department.

Formerly a college hairdressing student, Kirsty, who is also a busy mum with a two-year-old daughter, is studying the NVQ Level 2 Nail Services course. With a history of student successes, the course is attracting lots of interest.

Former student Oksana Cooper won the Association of Hairdressing and Therapies British Nail Art competition and picked up a silver medal in the WorldSkills UK heats held in Cambridge last year, while Danielle Greep won Gold at the WorldSkills UK 2010 Aromatherapy competition.

Now Kirsty is carrying on their legacy by winning the regional heats of the nail art Welsh Skills competition and by coming second in the nail enhancements competition held at Ystrad Mynych College in March last year. Kirsty then went on to win Gold at the Welsh finals in Powys College a couple of weeks later.

Kirsty is now preparing for the UK competition being held at Bridgend College where competitors will be hoping to win a place in the UK team. This is part of a competition process leading to the WorldSkills finals being held in Leipzig, Germany, in 2013.

Kirsty has also come a very respectable third in the Association of Hairdressers and Therapists National Finals in Commercial Nail Art - a UK-wide competition, putting her amongst some of the very best nail artists in the country.

WorldSkills works with colleges of Further Education to promote and encourage excellence in skills and trades. The international movement is backed in Wales by the Welsh Government; Colleges Wales and the National Training Federation for Wales.