Southern Regional College Students Compete for SkillBuild Glory

The annual SkillBuild competition at Southern Regional College got underway at the start of February as competitors from various trades and disciplines showcased their talents and skills.  Contestants from across the College’s campuses competed against peers, to be in with the chance to make it to the regional competition.  The regional competition is set to take place on Tuesday 21^st May at South West College’s Enniskillen campus. 

Categories participating in the SkillBuild competition included brickwork, cabinet making, carpentry, joinery, wall & floor tiling, painting & decorating, plastering, plumbing pipework, electrical installation and light motor vehicles. 

Success at the inter-campus competition is the first step towards competing on the WorldSkills stage.  Successful competitors at SkillBuild will be benchmarked against competitors from Northern Ireland’s other Further Education Colleges by the Construction Industry Training Board.  The results will determine who will represent the region at national and international levels.

There now remains an anxious wait before it’s known whether local students will progress to the regional competition.  Local students successful in the SkillBuild competition hoping to progress include:

Competition Area	Name	Hometown	Course	Campus
1st place
Cabinet Making	Odhran Campbell	Forkhill, Newry	L2 Carpentry & Joinery Apprenticeship	Greenbank
Plastering	Matthew McCready	Kilcoo, Newry	L2 Plastering Apprenticeship	Greenbank
Plumbing Pipework	Andrew Houston	Kilkeel	L3 Domestic Plumbing & Heating Apprenticeship	Greenbank
2nd place
Wall & Floor Tiling	Dean Frazer	Newtownhamilton, Newry	L2 Wall & Floor Tiling Traineeship	Greenbank
Plastering	Thomas Maguire	Newry	L2 Plastering Apprenticeship	Greenbank
Plumbing Pipework	John McKee	Kilkeel	L3 Domestic Plumbing & Heating Apprenticeship	Greenbank
Motor Vehicle Light	James McCartan	Annalong	L2 Light Vehicle Apprenticeship	Greenbank
3rd place
Carpentry	Junior Swain	Ballyward, Castlewellan	L2 Carpentry & Joinery	Greenbank
Plastering	Aiden McCabe	Newry	L2 Plastering Apprenticeship	Greenbank
Plumbing Pipework	Jordon Nummy	Newry	L2 Domestic Plumbing & Heating Apprenticeship	Greenbank

Rachel Dorovatas, Director of Industry Training & Support at CITB NI, attended the competition and praised the participants for their high standards of skills. Rached commented:

“We are continuously impressed by the standard of skills demonstrated by the apprentices and trainees who participate in the Inter Campus College Competitions. Congratulations are extended to all participants with special recognition for those who excelled in their categories. Their outstanding performance may pave the way for them to further showcase their talents at the upcoming SkillBuild NI Regional Competition in Enniskillen this May.

Gareth Mone, Curriculum Area Manager at Southern Regional College further commented:

“Our Inter campus SkillBuild competition involved over 80 competitors across construction, motor vehicle, body & paint, and welding trades.

We welcomed visitors from CITB NI and judges to Greenbank. Again, the standard of work was extremely high, and we hope to have many of our students progressing to the regional finals in Enniskillen.”

ENDS