Latest news with #SkillBuild
Daily Record
5 days ago
- Business
- Daily Record
Ayrshire apprentices to compete in national competition next week
Chantelle Muir and Frankie O'Dea will compete for top titles. Persimmon Homes has unveiled that apprentices Chantelle Muir, a bricklayer from Ayr, and Frankie O'Dea, a painter and decorator from Kilmarnock, have been selected by Ayrshire College to compete in the Scottish SkillBuild competition in 2025. The event, taking place on June 10 at Dundee and Angus College, is a key regional competition for the UK's most promising apprentices. SkillBuild, delivered by CITB, is the UK's largest construction competition, attracting over 1,000 trainees from across the country. Apprentices will be tested on their technical abilities, time management, character, and commitment, providing them with a platform to build confidence, enhance skills, and showcase their talent. Chantelle Muir, who began her apprenticeship with Persimmon in 2022, will compete in the bricklaying category. Having quickly established herself as a skilled and committed apprentice, Chantelle is determined to excel in the competition and take the top spot. Frankie O'Dea, who joined Persimmon in 2023 as a painting and decorating apprentice, is eager to "brush aside the competition" in his event. Frankie's attention to detail and passion for his craft have made him stand out, earning him the John Mather Award at Ayrshire College. William Smith, Persimmon Homes Regional Apprenticeship Manager, said: "We are incredibly proud of Chantelle and Frankie for being selected to compete in SkillBuild. This is an excellent opportunity for them to demonstrate their skills on a national stage and advance their careers in construction. We look forward to supporting them through this exciting challenge." Frankie O'Dea added: "I'm excited to represent Persimmon and Ayrshire College at SkillBuild. I'll give it my all and aim to brush aside the competition to win in painting and decorating!" SkillBuild Regional Qualifiers take place across the UK each year, with apprentices completing a trade-specific task within a 6-hour time frame. The top eight highest-scoring competitors from each category will then progress to the National Final, where the best in the country compete for the title. To follow Chantelle and Frankie's progress, please visit here.
BBC News
21-05-2025
- Business
- BBC News
SkillBuild NI: Young people honing skills in the construction industry
From fine art at university to studying how to tile walls and floors is quite the career it is one that Rebecca Gavigan, who studies in Limavady, has made and she is making a success of represented North West Regional College in the SkillBuild NI competition in wall and floor competition tests students from Further Education (FE) Colleges across Northern Ireland on construction apprenticeship programmes. Mature student Rebecca, who joined as a mature student, said she wanted to do something practical."At university I did fine art, and then 10 years later I was working and doing all sorts of stuff and finally decided that trade would be the best way to go about the rest of my journey," she told BBC News NI."Tiling can be very practical obviously, but very rewarding and creative so I thought that would be a good route to go down."It took a long time for me to decide to do that and make that leap as a mature student, but I'm glad I did."She has already proven herself as a tiler, qualifying for the SkillBuild UK finals in 2024. Competitor at SkillBuild Aaron Emerson, who studies carpentry and joinery in South Eastern Regional College (SERC) in Lisburn, has also gone back to has worked as a labourer on building sites for a number of years."An opportunity came up on the building site just to go in to joinery," he said."So I sort of took the leap."Aaron was competing in carpentry and joinery at SkillBuild NI, but said he received little information about going into a trade when he was at school."It's only in recent years that I've really realised that I can have carpentry and joinery," he said."I always sort of enjoyed it when I was younger but I maybe didn't have the courage to leap into it."He said that "plenty of patience" and "being fussy" was key to being a good goes into college one day a week and works on building sites on joinery the rest of the has ambitions to be self-employed as a joiner."I'd like some day to be able to look at a house and say: 'I put the roof on that by myself and hung all the doors'," he said. David Magee, meanwhile, was competing as a furniture and cabinet 19-year-old works as an apprentice for a kitchen company and also spends one day a week in college."I left school and came to the tech in Lisburn and I'm enjoying it so far," he said."I didn't really like paperwork and being in a classroom all day every day, so I preferred then to go for the apprenticeship route." Construction workers needed The Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) NI organised the SkillBuild NI event held at the Downpatrick campus of to Rachel Dorovatas, from CITB NI, there is a need for more young people like Rebecca, Aaron and organisation forecasts that 3,000 more construction workers will be needed in Northern Ireland by 2028."We have 11 trades happening in the competition, from wall and floor tiling to plastering, carpentry, joinery, a whole host of activities," she said."We know that the construction industry is definitely facing a skills shortage."We also know that there's an ageing workforce in some of those sectors."There are so many great opportunities and great roles from the trades," she more women into construction is also a priority and Rebecca Gavigan certainly has no regrets about choosing tiling as a career."I'm planning to hopefully work for myself, maybe start my own company at some point," she said."Tiling is definitely an art form and it takes a lot of years' practice and craft to really hone it."
