On Tuesday (28 April) the college hosted the East Midlands regional heats of SkillBuild 2015 and certificates of achievement were handed out by the college’s deputy principal Patricia Harman.
Aimed at finding Britain’s best trainee tradesperson it saw 100 students from 19 colleges compete in a wide range of craft-based challenges including bricklaying, carpentry, joinery, plastering, painting and decorating, cabinet making and floor and wall tiling.
Nine of the 14 students entered by the college achieved top three positions in their respective categories with three taking the top spot.
Plastering, new entrant category – 1st place - Connor Bradshaw
Plastering, senior category – 1st place – Stuart Peach
Painting and decorating, senior category – 1st place - Stefan Hubble
Painting and decorating, new entrant category – 2nd place - Lois Jade Collingwood
Painting and decorating, senior category – 2nd place - Francis Hawson
Joinery, new entrant category – 2nd place - Joseph Hadfield-Kellett
Carpentry, senior category – 3rd place - Adam Parr
Plastering, new entrant category – 2nd place - Corey Knowles
Plastering, senior category – 2nd place - Joshua Flanagan
Stefan Hubble, 25, from Edwinstowe, won 1st place in the senior painting and decorating competition. He works for Edwinstowe-based Sharpline Decorators Limited and said: “I competed last year and came first in the new entrants, so I’m pleased to have done well again.
“Today’s competition started quite fast-paced and it was a challenge, but I got on well with the design which used lots of colours and needed a lot of cutting in techniques applying. It was nerve-wracking but I enjoyed it. I’ll be sure to get my practice in for the finals in November.”
The regional heats involve students working on test plans which take a day to complete, with the highest scorers from the senior categories put forward to compete in the national final.
Head of construction and building services Julian Walden said: “The competition was absolutely fantastic and it was a pleasure to watch so many people putting their skills and patience into their individual challenges.
“We were delighted to host the regional competitions again at West Notts and I was very proud to see nine of our own students achieving in the top three positions.
“Everyone should be proud of their success and feel confident that having the change to apply their skills in competitions such as SkillBuild proves they are already standing out above their peers in their trades.”
Organised by the CITB (Construction Industry Training Board), SkillBuild has been running for more than 20 years as a way of recognising the importance of trainees and their skills.
Success at the SkillBuild regional heats will give entrants the opportunity to challenge for a place on the WorldSkills UK team and progress to compete at the 2015 WorldSkills competition in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil.
Caption: Top row - Connor Bradshaw, Francis Hawson, Patricia Harman, Stefan Hubble, Adam Parr. Front row - Joshua Hadfield-Kellett, Lois Jade Collingwood and Joshua Flanagan. (Stuart Peach and Corey Knowles not pictured)