Ballymoney construction trainee takes silver at National Skills Competition

Twenty year old, Aidan Glass who attends Northern Regional College, Ballymoney was competing against 10 other finalists in his category at a tense three day final which took place at Preston College last week.

Run by CITB-ConstructionSkills, the Sector Skills Council and Industry Training Board, the SkillBuild 2012 UK Final sees the top-scoring finalists compete in a wide range of specialist categories including Joinery, Carpentry and Stonemasonry. This year, almost 1,000 entrants took part in 14 regional heats across the UK in a bid to make it to the final.

Aidan, who is employed by Cloane Contracts was awarded second place at the closing awards ceremony and reception at Preston Guild Hall on Friday 14 September, attended by esteemed industry members, sponsors, academics and peers. Awards were presented on the night by celebrity builder Tommy Walsh.

Commenting on his win, Aidan said: “I’m absolutely delighted, it’s great to be in the top three. The competition was tough, but it’s been worth all the hard work and preparation. I’d like to thank my college and employer for all their support and help and also everyone at SkillBuild for a great competition.”

Regional Barry Neilson Chief Executive, CITB-ConstructionSkills NI said: “This year’s SkillBuild has been a fantastic success and it’s always a pleasure to bring together the construction industry’s most promising talent in this nationwide competition. SkillBuild encourages excellence, helps to raise standards in training and is an exciting way to showcase the outstanding talent in the construction industry, and we’re proud of all 100 finalists, who have demonstrated work of an exceptionally high standard.”

SkillBuild is run by CITB-ConstructionSkills as part of its commitment to training and excellence and ongoing efforts to bring new blood into the construction industry.