Reaseheath construction students built on their skills to impress judges at a competition to find the nation’s most talented young tradespeople.

Our team of ten students won an outstanding six awards at our regional SkillBuild qualifier, delivered by CITB (the Industry Training Board for the construction industry) and held at South and City College, Birmingham.

Skillbuild is the largest multi-trade competition in the UK for construction trainees and apprentices and attracts contestants from all over the country. Top regional performers are in line for selection for the national finals, held at The Skills Show in November, and could potentially go on to compete at EuroSkills and at the global WorldSkills finals.

Competitors are tested on their technical abilities, time management, character and commitment. As the series progresses, those with outstanding talent could be selected for further technical and life skills training from experts in their industry.

Our successful students were:

New Entrant Site Joinery: 1st  Tom Lewis (Level 1 joiner)

New Entrant Bench Joinery: 2nd  Robert Shaw (Level 1 joiner)

New Entrant Plastering: 1st  Jack Williams (Level 1 plasterer)

Senior Bench Joinery:  2nd  Harry Hiscoe (Level 2 joiner); 3rd  Callum Bratherton (Level 2 joiner)

Senior Plastering: 3rd Jon Galloway (Level 1 plasterer) 

Harry Dykes (plasterer), Harry Purslow (joiner), Jamie Smith (bricklayer) and Dean Stanley (bricklayer) put in excellent performances but were just outside the top placings.

Hopes are high that at least some of our students will qualify for the next round, but final selection won’t be decided until after the last qualifying round in July.

Programme Leader in Construction Andy Gould said: “All the students performed magnificently and the whole department is delighted at these outstanding results. In addition to competing to a high standard, all the students conducted themselves in a professional manner and represented the college extremely well.”

Staff members Mark Redmond, Mick Hargreaves and Darren Keen accompanied the team to the competition.