Podium Places for SERC Students at SkillBuild NI 2023

Six students from South Eastern Regional College (SERC) took podium places at the Construction Industry Training Board NI (CITB NI) annual SkillBuild NI Finals 2023 competition, hosted at NWRC, Greystone Campus, Limavady on 16 May, with winners announced by Sarah Travers.

Involving over 90 competitors, SkillBuild NI 2023 is designed to test skills, technique, and ability within tight timeframes.   It identifies the top performers in 11 different trade areas within construction apprenticeship programmes from across Northern Ireland – showcasing the wealth of talent and professionalism throughout the industry. SkillBuild is supported by the Department for the Economy and local construction companies.  

Six of the thirteen strong SERC team lifted first, second and third place in Fire & Security, first and second place in Furniture and Cabinet Making and third in the Electrical Installation competition: 

Fire & Security

First Place – Matthew Blair (Ballinderry Upper) Level 3 Apprenticeship NI Fire & Security at Lisburn Campus employed by BPS Fire & Security       

Second Place – Jack Matthews (Lisburn) Level 3 Apprenticeship NI Fire & Security at Lisburn Campus employed by   Surrey Security Systems (SSS)  

Third Place – Taylor Rollo (Newtownards) Level 3 Apprenticeship NI Fire & Security at Lisburn Campus employed by BPS Fire & Security

Cabinet Making

First Place – David Magee (Hillsborough) OCN NI Level 2 Diploma in Woodworking Skills employed by Beresford Kitchens.

Second Place – Taylor Simpson (Lisburn) OCN NI Level 2 Diploma in Woodworking Skills at Lisburn Campus.  

Electrical Installation

Third Place – Cameron Gorman (Bangor) Apprenticeship NI Level 3 Electrical Installation at Newtownards Campus employed by B.I. Electrical.

Ken Webb, Principal and Chief Executive of SERC said,

“We are delighted for all the SERC students and apprentices who secured wins at SkillBuild 2023 and for everyone who reached the finals. We wish them all continued success.     

“Competitions such as SkillBuild allows our students and apprentices to showcase their skills, knowledge and professionalism and reflects the high standards of teaching and mentoring at SERC.”

Winners from the NI finals may have the opportunity to represent Northern Ireland in the SkillBuild UK National Finals which will take place at the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes on 21, 22 & 23 November 2023.

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