UK’s top construction trainees named for ‘Skills Olympics’ finals

Fifty-four finalists from all over the UK made it through qualifying rounds held remotely at their colleges during the summer.  

They will battle it out on 16-18 November at SkillBuild, the UK’s largest multi-trade construction competition, taking place at the National Construction College, Bircham Newton, Norfolk in partnership with WorldSkills UK. 

Stephen George, CITB Careers Product Manager, said: 

“SkillBuild showcases the finest young talent in the sector, and this year the competitors will have come through an unprecedented and uncertain time to be learning their trade.  

“I’d like to wish all the finalists the very best for their competitions, and for their future careers in this exciting and rewarding industry.” 

The competitions and finalists are as follows:   

Bricklaying – Mitchell Proctor, Preston College; Harvey Enwright, York College; Rhys Howells, Coleg Sir Gar; Kieran Oglethorpe, Preston College; Michael Topham, York College; Daniel Greenwood, Bishop Burton College; Charley Evans, Weymouth College 

Carpentry – Sammy Young, Neath College; Matthew Connor, Belfast Metropolitan College; Luke Turner, Wirral Met College; Danny Oliver, RNN Group; Charlie Reeve, E N Suiter & Sons Ltd; Leonie McDonagh, Belfast Metropolitan College; Thomas Hogarth, Burnley College  

Furniture and Cabinetmaking – Jack Talbot, Burnley College; Ciaran Baggott, Moulton College; Thomas Knowles, Chichester College Group; Tom Slerin, Burnley College; Issac Bingham, Southern Regional College 

Joinery – William Zuk, Bolton College; Sam Abbott, North Warwickshire and South Leicestershire College; Steffan Thomas, Coleg Ceredigion; Dion Evans, Coleg Ceredigion; Nell Tomlinson, Carlisle College; Danny Featherstone, West Suffolk College 

Painting and Decorating – Nicole Smith, Bell Group UK; Sophie Graham, City College Plymouth; Jacqui Hawthorne, Southern Regional College; Kieran Evans, The College Merthyr Tydfil; Claire McPhillips, Bell Group UK; Steven McMaster, City of Glasgow College  

Plastering – Joshua Hutchings, South Devon College; Kieran Jones-Rees, Coleg Sir Gar; Paul-Anthony Smith, City of Liverpool College; Kieron Thomas, Coleg Sir Gar; Steven Price, City College Plymouth; Sam Dean, Wigan and Leigh College 

Plastering and Drywall Systems – Liam Watson, Errigal Contracts; Matthew Connolly, Errigal Contracts; Ignas Kurasovas, Errigal Contracts; Tommy Falco, West London College; Zara Dupont, Leeds College of Building; Billy Messent, Preston College 

Stonemasonry – Kane Frith, Bath College; Lewis Evans, Bath College; Ben Nicolson, Edinburgh College; Corrie Kettrick, Edinburgh College

Wall and Floor Tiling – Chrisopher Parry, City of Glasgow College; Tony Kane, Southern Regional College; Aaron Gillespie, Southern Regional College; Morgan Nutt, North West Regional College; Laura Jones, Cardiff and Vale College; Aaron Brady, Leeds College of Building; Conor Nugent, Southern Regional College  

Sponsors of SkillBuild include BAL, Stone Federation, British Gypsum and Crown, with Michelmersh joining to support bricklaying competitions. CITB is extremely grateful to all organisations and agencies helping to showcase the quality and potential of the next generation of tradespeople.   

CITB’s SkillBuild competition are run under the WorldSkills UK national competition framework. The WorldSkills international competitions take place every two years, and will hold its delayed 2020 event in Shanghai, in 2022. 

Find out more about SkillBuild and how to take part in next year’s UK competitions.