Talented tradespeople in the North West have competed to make it to the final of the national SkillBuild competition – the largest multi-trade competition in the UK for construction trainees and apprentices – having beat fellow contestants at the regional heat hosted by the City of Liverpool College, earlier this month.
The event was attended by over 300 people who came to see 57 entrants aged 16 and over from across the region compete against each other at the City of Liverpool College’s Vaxhaull Road campus, to be crowned a winner in one of 10 chosen trades, including bricklaying, carpentry, painting and decorating, joinery and stonemasonry.
Those who have made it to the national final will compete against the best tradespeople across the country in a three-day competition held at the NEC in Birmingham, where the winners will be crowned the best in the country.
Elaine Bowker, principal of the City of Liverpool College, said:
“I would like to personally congratulate all entrants for taking part in the North West heat of the competition, but especially those who are going through to the national final, representing the talent that is evident in our region.
“The City of Liverpool College is the college for business, and our students are given opportunities to work with major businesses and receive training from industry leaders, which is essential to their development and makes a huge difference to their job prospects.
“There is some fantastic talent coming out of the North West in these trades which are facing ever-growing skills gaps. These skills are essential to our economy – the construction industry plays a leading role in delivering economic growth and is essential in meeting the economic and social challenges that Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) face across the infrastructure, housing, repair and maintenance, industrial and commercial sectors, so it’s important that we celebrate the talent and passion that exists in the region.”
In addition to the competition, the City of Liverpool College hosted a trade show featuring local and national construction companies including Kier, Morgan Sindall, Crown and Rollins, providing information, demonstrations and hands-on activities for all attendees.
The trade show provided an opportunity for the young talent to meet with prospective employers, facilitating potential job opportunities as well as giving businesses the chance to develop their talent pools.
SkillBuild North West regional heat winners:
* Bricklaying Senior: Oliver Ogden
* Bricklaying New Entrant: Jake Wilson
* Carpentry Senior: Adam Clossick
* Carpentry New Entrant: Josh Atkinson
* Joinery Senior: Jonathan Homer
* Joinery New Entrant: Connor Gelder
* Furniture & Cabinet Making Senior: Robert Bamber
* Painting & Decorating Senior: Connor Stephenson
* Painting & Decorating New Entrant: Bradley Carroll
* Plastering Senior: Michael Walsh
* Plastering New Entrant: Nathan Cousin
