Students from Southern Regional College have collected a total of twelve medals at the SkillBuild NI Finals 2023 held by The Construction Industry Training Board NI (CITB NI).

The SkillBuild competition is held annually each spring with top local construction apprentices competing to win titles in the categories;Brickwork, Cabinet Making, Carpentry, Electrical Installation, Joinery, Painting & Decorating, Plastering Dry Wall Systems, Plastering, Plumbing, Wall & Floor Tiling.

Successful construction competitors at the regional qualifiers will move forward to represent Northern Ireland in the SkillBuild UK national final which, for the first time, will take place at the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes on 21, 22 & 23 November 2023. Successful participants in the areas of Plumbing, Electrical and Fire winners may get the opportunity progress on to the UK Finals of SkillPLUMB and SkillELECTRIC also held in November.

The competition is designed to test skills, technique, ability within tight timeframes, and identifies the top performers in 11 different trade areas within construction apprenticeship programmes from across Northern Ireland. It is a showcase of the wealth of talent, professionalism, and the brightest recruits throughout the industry.  Competition test pieces are designed to challenge the ability of competitors to follow detailed instructions, produce accurate and neat work outputs, be economical with materials while working to strict timescales – all essential requirements needed for today’s construction industry.

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Southern Regional College are delighted with the success of students in the following categories:

• Brickwork –

1st Place: Niall Rice

2nd Place: Matthew Carswell

3rd Place: Charlie Hutton

• Electrical Installation –

2nd Place: Conor McDonnell

• Furniture & Cabinet Making –

3rd Place: Jake Richardson

• Painting & Decorating –

1st Place: Jacqui Hawthorne

2nd Place:Erin McKnight

3rd Place:Scott Buchanan

• Plastering –

1st Place: Joshua McBride

3rd Place: Matthew Connolly

• Wall & Floor Tiling –

1st Place: Conor Braniff

2nd Place: Patryk Nieboda 

Barry Neilson, Chief Executive CITB NI, said: "A huge congratulations to all the apprentices who took part in the annual SkillBuild NI 2023 competitions. There was an incredible amount of talent on display.  It was great to see the enthusiasm and commitment from a new generation of construction industry leaders – the future of the industry is looking very bright!

"Apprentices at all levels are a vital component to helping the construction industry develop and grow. Offering young people apprenticeships gives businesses the chance to play an active role in developing their future workforce as well as creating the future skills that they need to help their businesses develop."

Brian Doran, Principal & CEO of Southern Regional College further commented: "I extend my congratulations to the SRC students who excelled at the SkillBuild NI Finals by winning 12 medals and maintaining our position as the best performing College in Northern Ireland. I am immensely proud of all our students, for the commitment and dedication shown to get to this stage and for embracing the challenges of the NI Skill Build competition.  I look forward to hearing of their continued success as they move onwards to the National Finals in November."