Spec Finish

A SERIES of competitions sees the very best compete against each other to be crowned a winner in their chosen trade. As each level of competition progresses, competitors are tested not only on their technical abilities, but on their time management, character and commitment, and the competitions can help them build their own confidence, self-esteem and life skills. The Regional Qualifiers run UK-wide, from April to June each year. These one-day events bring together apprentices and trainees, with the overall eight highest- scoring competitors in each specialist skill going through to the next round – the SkillBuild UK National Final. The skill levels increase and the pressure intensifies as competitors from across the UK are brought together for a three-day event, as part ofWorldSkills UK ‘LIVE’. The highest- scoring eligible recipients have the potential to join theWorldSkills UK ‘Squad UK’ and progress to international competition. SkillBuild UK National Final The SkillBuild 2021 National Finals were held at the National Construction College (East) site in Bircham Newton, Norfolk over the course of three days, from Tuesday 16 November to Thursday 18 November. This year’s qualifying rounds were unlike any other – due to Covid restrictions, online assessments and remotely-delivered physical tasks were introduced, and were met with an incredible response from competitors, who stepped up to the challenge of a new way of competing. Almost 250 competitors participated in the qualifiers across a range of skill disciplines, showing judges the very best of what construction apprentices and trainees have to offer at locations up and down the UK. Success for fit-out sector The six finalists in the plastering and drywall systems category were, LiamWatson, Matthew Connolly and Ignas Kurasovas (all from Errigal Contracts) Tommy Falco, West London College (Employed by K10 and working for BDL Group); Zara Dupont, Leeds College of Building (trainee) and Billy Messent, Preston College (working for Fullwood Plastering Services). FIS member, Errigal Contracts knocked it out of the park by winning all top three medals: • Gold medal winner: Ignas Kurasovas – Errigal Contracts • Silver medal winner: LiamWatson – Errigal Contracts • Bronze medal winner: Matthew Connolly – Errigal Contracts Commenting on this outstanding result, George Swann, FIS Skills andTraining Lead, said: “To have five of the six National SkillBuild finalists fromFISmember organisations is testament to the quality of workmanship being achieved in plastering and drywall by our members. Medal winners, Ignas Kurasovas, LiamWatson andMatthewConnolly from Errigal Contracts, now have an opportunity to represent the UK at the EuroSkills competition in St Petersburg in 2022. Everyone at FIS applauds Errigal Contracts on this outstanding achievement.” Damien Treanor, one of the founders of Errigal Contracts, said: “This is a really important journey for the drywall industry and I am so proud of all our dedicated team members who go above and beyond for all our apprentices and for Errigal. “To achieve the top three medals in the UK when all these people are from Ireland really encourages our industry in the rest of the UK to step up and get ready for the years ahead. “These young people worked on their build for three days under watchful eyes of the judges, I am very impressed and I feel proud to be part of their journey wherever it takes them.” Skills SkillBuild, delivered by CITB, is the largest multi-trade competition in the UK for construction trainees and apprentices. THE FUTURE OF CONSTRUCTION IS BRIGHTWITH THIS TALENTED TRAINEEWORKFORCE 20 www.thefis.org Gold medal winner, Ignas Kurasovas Silver medal winner, LiamWatson Bronze medal winner, Matthew Connolly There are nine construction categories at SkillBuild and the ones that will be of most interest to FIS members are: carpentry, furniture and cabinet making, joinery, painting and decorating, plastering, plastering and drywall systems and wall and floor tiling. (The other two categories are bricklaying and stonemasonry.) www.goconstruct.org/skillbuild