Skills competitions are a great way to boost skills and get you noticed and 2011 has been a tremendous year for local construction apprentices competing at the local, national and international level in a range of categories from brickwork to wall & floor tiling.

A total of six medals were achieved at the Skillbuild UK National finals in September and a further Gold, Silver and Bronze medals were won at the WorldSkills competition held in London in October.

All the Northern Ireland team members qualified for the UK National finals by competing at the Skillbuild Northern Ireland competition held in April. They competed against over 100 other regional winners from all over the UK in each of the construction craft disciplines. The highest performers in each of these competitions then compete against each other for the opportunity to represent the UK in WorldSkills. WorldSkills is the biggest skills competition in the world and is held every two years in different cities across the globe.

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Supporting the competitors at every step of the way is Snickers Workwear who provide top quality clothing for those training and competing. Speaking on this sponsorship role

David Cooper, Chairman of Skillbuild NI, said: "Skills competitions are an excellent way to showcase the high level of technical ability and occupational competence of young people within the construction industry. Competitions such as these have a major role to play in stimulating interest by showing the public just how exciting, challenging and rewarding a career in construction can be. Without the work of all the sponsors involved the local competition could not happen, we extend our thanks to Snickers Workwear for their support over the years. Recruiting the talent of the future is a challenge our industry must meet if we are to avoid the skills gaps of the past. Despite the recessional times we are proud that we have taken steps to help preserve the industry for now which will help to pave the way for when the upturn occurs."

(CD)