Apprentice wins Gold at SkillBuild NI – supported by BAL.

Daniel McBurney achieved Gold in Wall and Floor Tiling, after competing against other apprentices at South West College, Technology and Skills Centre Enniskillen.

Skillbuild NI, run and governed by CITB NI, is held annually each spring with the top local construction apprentices competing to win coveted titles ranging from brickwork to wall and floor tiling.

BAL have supported SkillBuild for a number of years, with Training Manager Dave Rowley acting as lead judge since 2009 and the company providing materials.

The winners may then go on to represent Northern Ireland in the Skills Show UK and potentially at WorldSkills.

Eight other Southern Regional College apprentices were also awarded at the SkillBuild NI Finals.

“It reflects the high standards of training in our Colleges and the commitment to excellence demonstrated by the competitors. As with all skills competitions, Skillbuild NI is about raising the status and standards of professional and technical education and training.

“We have a proud record of success at skills competitions not only on a local level but also on a regional, national and world level.

“I congratulate the ten young competitors who have been selected to represent the UK Squad, and I look forward to seeing how many progress to the prestigious Worldskills competition in Abu Dhabi in 2017.”

The competition encourages trainees to improve their own skills and provides an example of the high quality work being produced in training organisations and colleges across NI.

The Skillbuild test pieces are designed to challenge the ability of apprentices, testing skills within tight timeframes and the competitors are being continuously assessed throughout the competition.

The competition has the support of local construction employers who sponsor each category, and has the overall support from the Department for Employment and Learning, Construction Employers Federation, Haldane Fisher, City and Guilds, Colleges NI, Federation of Master Builders and Subway.

Maurice Johnston, Chairman CITB NI said: “CITB NI is proud to have been involved in construction competitions for almost 40 years.

(SOURCE: Banbridge Leader)

Trainee Tilers excel at The Skills Show National Final

A trainee tiler from Northern Ireland scooped the wall and floor tiling gold medal at the Skills Show at Birmingham’s NEC.

The gold medal went to Kieran Magee from Southern Regional College in Northern Ireland; silver went to Jack Radford from Nottingham’s New College and Lee Jones from Cardiff and Vale College picked up the bronze medal.

Aaron Hilton from Leeds College of Building and Christopher Weston from Cardiff and Vale College received Highly Commended awards.

Kieran Magee and Jack Radford were also named in Squad UK to train towards selection for WorldSkills Abu Dhabi in 2017. They join Armondos Tamulis from Southern Regional College in the squad.

The Tile Association is the lead competition supplier for the wall and floor tiling competition and provided the prizes for the gold, silver and bronze medal winners. As well as a cheque, medal winners will also receive a Bellotta Pro 55 Tile Cutter. BAL provided adhesives for the competition, with tiles supplied by Johnson Tiles and trims by Schluter. Suretile, meanwhile, supplied a Tiletracker system for each finalist.

The wall and floor tiling competition was one of 58 trade finals held at The Skills Show this year. Regional heats took place at colleges across the UK under the watchful eye of Dave Rowley from BAL, chairman of the Tile Association’s supply chain training committee. Finalists then moved on to the national event at The Skills Show.

Congratulations to all the young tilers who were invited to take part in the final:

Sovandeth Chin — Leeds College of Building
Daniel Griffin — St Helens College
Aaron Hilton — Leeds College of Building
Aaron Horrobin — Cardiff and Vale College
Lee Jones — Cardiff and Vale College
Kieran Magee — Southern Regional College
Jack Radford — New College, Nottingham
Armondas Tamulis — Southern Regional College
Christopher Weston — Cardiff and Vale College
Patrick Wong — South and City College Birmingham
Malcolm Worley — St Helens College

(SOURCE: www.tiles.org.uk)

Trainee tilers to compete for national title at The Skills Show

The best trainee tile fixers from across the UK will be competing for the national title at this year’s Skills Show in November. The Tile Association is the lead competition supplier for the wall and floor tiling competition and is providing the prizes for the gold, silver and bronze medal winners.

The Skills Show is the UK’s leading skills and careers event for young people and takes place from 19th to 21st November at the NEC in Birmingham. The wall and floor tiling competition is one of 60 trade finals being held.

Regional heats have taken place at colleges across the UK this year under the watchful eye of Dave Rowley from BAL, chairman of the TTA’s supply chain training committee.

Finalists now move on to the national event at The Skills Show, where they will aim to become UK champion. Those who excel may be selected to train in Squad UK to represent their country at WorldSkills Abu Dhabi 2017.

Tiling companies are also doing their bit to support the competition and the finalists.

As well as a cheque from the TTA, medal winners will also receive a Bellotta Pro 55 Tile Cutter.

BAL is providing the adhesives for the competition, with tiles supplied by Johnson Tiles and trims by Schluter. Suretile, meanwhile, is supplying a Tiletracker system for each finalist, which they will be able to keep after the event.

Each finalist will receive a toolbag — if your company would like to donate items to go in it, please email support@tile.org.uk as soon as possible.

There is lots more information about this year’s Skills Show at www.findafuture.org.uk/the-skills-show.

SOURCE: www.tiles.org.uk

To find out more about how we’re supporting the tilers of tomorrow click here.