Former Barnsley College construction apprentice reaches the final of SkillBuild national competition

Organised by the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB), SkillBuild is one of the longest running construction competitions in the UK and has been showcasing the talents of trainees for several decades.

The three-day competition will take place at WorldSkills UK Live at the NEC in Birmingham in November where Adam’s bricklaying skills will be put to the test. He will compete with other talented trainees from around the UK to build model walls, testing his design, interpretation, planning, time-management and building skills. The highest scoring medal winners who are age and skill eligible will then have the opportunity to progress to Squad UK, with the potential of being selected to compete at an international level.

To reach the final, Adam competed at the SkillBuild Yorkshire Regional Qualifier where he achieved the accolade of being one of the eight highest scoring competitors at this year’s Regional Qualifiers.

In addition to his success at SkillBuild, Adam also won the National Guild of Bricklayers Senior Competition earlier this year.

Adam, 19, from Darfield in Barnsley, said:

“I am very happy that I have made it to the biggest construction competition in the UK. This wouldn’t have been possible without the coaching, help and support from everyone at my workplace at Fountain Developments and my tutors at College, Mick and Luke. I’m looking forward to the competition and can’t wait to see what result it brings.”

Adam’s tutor Michael Lindsay added:

“It’s an excellent achievement for Adam to be selected to compete at the national final. He will get the opportunity to showcase his superb brickwork skills and techniques to the large audience that WorldSkills UK attracts each year. The experience of competing at such a prestigious event is a deserved reward for Adam’s hard work and commitment to learn and improve his brickwork skills. We would like to wish Adam success for the final.”

Adam recently completed his Level 3 Construction Building Apprenticeship and is now working full-time for the company where he undertook his apprenticeship, house developers and building contractors, Fountain Developments.