Newcastle College is preparing to host students and apprentices from across the north of England, southern Scotland and Northern Ireland for the SkillBuild 2024 regional heat.
On Thursday 27 June, the College will welcome almost 70 competitors from 18 colleges and training providers to showcase their skills and compete to be named the best in their trade.
SkillBuild is the UK’s largest and longest-running construction skills competition. Delivered by the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) it brings together learners and apprentices to test their specialist skills and technical abilities.
Competitors in bricklaying, carpentry, joinery, painting and decorating, plastering and roof slating and tiling will be tested on their technical skills, time management, problem-solving and how they work under pressure.
It is one of 19 regional qualifiers taking place across the UK between April and July. The top eight scoring competitors from each trade category will be invited to take part in the SkillBuild National Final, held in Milton Keynes in November. Last year saw Newcastle College apprentices Courtney Maddison and Robert Young reach the national finals to compete in Painting and Decorating and Roofing respectively.
The North East qualifier is the biggest skills competition to be held in the region and will provide even more competitors with the chance to improve their technical and employability skills, connect with peers from across the country and increase their employability chances.
Scott Bullock, Principal of Newcastle College said: “Skills competitions like SkillBuild are fantastic opportunities for learners to gain work experience and improve their employability skills by testing their knowledge and skills against national and international standards, under competitive pressures.
“We are so pleased to be hosting this year’s regional qualifier and I am looking forward to welcoming skilled competitors from right across the North to our campus and seeing their talent on display.”
The full list of providers taking part in the North East SkillBuild regional heat at Newcastle College are:
- Bishop Auckland College
- Carlisle College
- Derwentside College
- East Durham College
- Fife College
- Learning Curve Group
- Newcastle College
- New College Durham
- South Lanarkshire College
- South West College Omagh
- Stockton Riverside College
- Tyne Metropolitan College
- J.Brickwork
- Buildroute
- Focus Joinery
- Liston Builders