Apprentice Ainsley finishes runner-up in national Painting & Decorating final
York College Craft Painter & Decorator apprentice Ainsley Fernandes has finished runner-up in the national final of a competition.
Ainsley, 21, impressed judges at the BTX Painting and Decorating Learner of the Year competition held at the SMB College Group’s Stephenson Campus in Coalville.
He was pipped to the title by Romilly Oliver, who was representing Multi Trades Training Ltd.
All finalists were set a challenging project by Head Judges Peter Walters and Adrian Copp, from the Association of Painting Craft Teachers (APCT).
Ainsley, who qualified for the final from a regional heat, was pleased with his performance at the Leicestershire venue and said: “It was a great day and I loved the competition. It felt amazing to finish second and all my hard work has really paid off.”
As part of his apprenticeship with College and his employers Hesp Jones and Co, Ainsley has worked on projects at Castle Howard and Arundel Castle in Sussex, where he is showcasing the same skills that he demonstrated in the BTX tournament.
The Beningbrough-based restoration and decoration business have been trading since 1976 and, on Ainsley’s achievement and conduct as an apprentice, company director Charles Hesp said: “We are very proud to have Ainsley as an apprentice.
“Over the last two years he has been a credit to our team and himself. I was very pleased to see what he had done in the competition.
"It is what Hesp and Jones is all about because, at the moment, we are in the Queen Victoria Bedroom at Arundel Castle where we have created a stencil design for the walls with gilding, so Ainsley is helping us with that.”
Ainsley first enrolled at College as a 17-year-old Level I Construction Skills Multi-skill student before quickly progressing onto our Painting & Decorating course, while gaining his English GCSE and then becoming an apprentice.
On the quality shown in the final, Zoe Tanner, Managing Director at BTX, added: “The final was a remarkable showcase of hands-on expertise and creative precision within the trade. Each finalist demonstrated outstanding skill, attention to detail and professionalism while working under realistic, time-pressured conditions.
“The standard of work sets a high benchmark for future competitions and reflects the exciting future of the painting and decorating industry.”
