Apprentices scoop top award
Apprentices at Bedford College proved they
were a winning team when they scooped top awards in the regional
heat of SkillBuild, the UK’s biggest construction skills
competition, held at North Hertfordshire College.
The competition aims to find the best
apprentice in the country across a variety of trades including
carpentry, joinery, bricklaying and painting and decorating.
Matthew Randall came away with a gold award
for joinery and said:
“The competition was a real challenge and I’m
really proud of what I’ve achieved. The project work set in
the competition was equivalent to year 3 work and I’m just
completing year 1 so that was a real test. It was also good
fun taking part.”
Other students delighted with their success
were Phil Tipping picking up a silver award and Jordan Daniels a
bronze award in carpentry, and Ben Menzies a bronze award in
joinery.
The students are all at various levels of
apprenticeship training from 1st year to the final
3rd year and covering full time and part time
study.
Phil Tipping will finish his studies this
summer after three years on a block release apprenticeship scheme,
where he combines working in industry with studying at Bedford
College. He said:
“The combination of working on a construction
site and studying in College gives you the chance to gain
qualifications at the same time as valuable experience. It
means having to be independent and take responsibility for yourself
and your work. The competition was quite tough and we were
all surprised and delighted to come away with awards.”
Carpentry and Joinery lecturer and course
tutor Steve Gadsden added:
“I am proud of the apprentices who have worked
hard in the run up to the SkillBuild competition and delighted they
came away with top awards that prove how talented and skilled they
are. It is an incredible achievement for the students and for
Bedford College.”
The SkillBuild competition was organized by
ConstructionSkills, the
sector skills council for the construction industry.
Find out more about construction courses
or apprenticeships at Bedford College.