THIS YEAR’S Welsh regional final of the construction competition ‘SkillBuild’ saw over 80 young Welsh construction apprentices and workers impress judges with their skills. A place at the national Skills Show, taking place between November 17 and 18, is up for grabs, where the highest scoring regional competitors will compete in front of approximately 75,000 spectators.
On June 2, entrants from across Wales (including Coleg Sir Gar, NPTC Group and Grwp Llandrillo Menai) arrived at Neath Port Talbot College in South Wales for this years Welsh SkillBuild regional final.
Specially designed six-hour challenges focused on testing the young people’s skills over a range of construction trades, such as carpentry and painting, dry lining, decorating and plastering.
The technical ability of 22-year-old Joshua Wells wowed the judges, and he took home gold for the Plastering category as a result.
Regarding his success in the competition, Joshua said: “This is my second time competing in SkillBuild now. After winning last year too, I was more determined than ever to come back and defend my crown. It’s a really good way of developing my practical skills as well as building my confidence too. There was a lot of really strong talent at the Welsh final so I’m really happy to have won – and hope that I can take part in The Skills Show national final!”
British Gypsum, a lead sponsor of SkillBuild, provides materials for all Dry Wall Systems and Plastering challenges.
David Kehoe, British Gypsum’s National Training and Technical Representative, is a lead judge for SkillBuild’s Plastering category. He said: “We had a great day at Neath Port Talbot – there’s clearly a lot of outstanding talent in the region and it’s fantastic to see so many young people at the start of their career so dedicated to developing their professional skills.
“The Welsh construction sector is set to grow nearly three times faster than the UK average over the next five years so it’s crucial that future generations are encouraged to excel in trade-based careers. SkillBuild is a great example of how individuals and businesses are joining together to do this, and it’s clear from the Welsh regional heats that there’s a lot of talent out there to support.”
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