Three Reaseheath College, Nantwich, construction students proved they have outstanding skills by impressing judges at an Olympic style competition to find the nation\u2019s most talented young tradespeople.<\/p>\n
Advanced carpentry apprentice Matt Williams, 18, won the senior carpentry and joinery section in the north west regional round of Skillbuild and qualified for the national final in September. Winners from there may go on to represented Britain in WorldSkills International, a global event which in 2015 will be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.<\/p>\n
Advanced bricklayer Dave Ford came third in the senior bricklaying section and remains in contention for the final while advanced bricklaying apprentice Leonard Thomas impressed the judges but missed out on a place in the same section.<\/p>\n
The regional round, held in Burnley, was for college trainees aged 21 and under and attracted entries from colleges from throughout the north west. The contestants had to interpret a drawn plan and demonstrate a range of skills on different challenges over a five hour period.<\/p>\n
Matt, who attends Reaseheath on day release, is a site joiner for Ewson Contractors of Malpas and lives in Whitchurch.<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cA lot of good joiners took part in the competition and I was really surprised to win. I just tried to remember all the tips that my tutors had taught me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dave Ford, 19, of Northwich is currently a full-time construction student at Reaseheath while Leonard, 19 is a bricklayer for Farmer and Tapley Ltd of Market Drayton and lives in Childs Ercall.<\/p>\n
Construction Instructor Danny Collins, who has organised Reaseheath\u2019s Skillbuild teams for the past seven years, said: \u201cThe students represented Reaseheath extremely well and the whole department is very proud of their achievements.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe competition was very stiff but they all gave a very good account of themselves and gained valuable experience at the same time. We were delighted that the outstanding quality of their work was recognised by the judging panel.\u201d<\/p>\n