Stonemason apprentice Nicholas chisels his way to victory in National SkillBuild final
York College apprentice Nicholas Beck chiselled his way to victory at the prestigious Go Construct National SkillBuild UK final.
The Level 2 Stonemason apprentice, who is employed by Cumbria Quarrying Services, was crowned champion by an expert panel of judges, who assessed his work on an 18-hour project over the course of two days at the Arena MK in Milton Keynes.
Based in Carlisle, Nick receives tuition at Sim Balk Lane on block release.
He received his award at a special Presentation Ceremony, having previously progressed as the first-placed finisher in a regional qualifier, hosted in our Stonemasonry Workshop.
His classmate Jack Crisp finished second in that heat, meaning he also competed at Milton Keynes, along with another York College finalist Ethan Culican.
Ben Statters and Ainsley Fernandes, meanwhile, contested the Painting & Decorating final, too, having progressed from the York College regional qualifier in first and second place respectively.
All five students were among a thousand that originally entered the competition with just 80 spots at the final up for grabs.
They went to the top-ranked eight entrants from across all the regional qualifiers in the 10 different construction trades that are contested as part of the country’s largest multi-trade competition for apprentices and trainees in the industry.
It is delivered by the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) with judges assessing competitors on several characteristics, including technical ability, time management, problem solving, working under pressure and compliance with health and safety requirements.
Just participating has also proven to develop confidence, self-esteem and life skills.
CITB’s Construction Workforce Outlook forecasts that more than 47,000 extra construction workers will be needed in the UK each year by 2029, which demonstrates the opportunities available for people to join the industry.
To learn more about our Stonemason Apprenticeship, please visit here
For a full list of our current Apprenticeship vacancies, click here
Details on all our Construction courses can be found here
Want to discuss any of our degree, higher-level, vocational, T Level and A Level courses or apprenticeships with our expert team of tutors and check out our state-of-the-art facilities? Then, please come along to our next Open Event. Details on dates can be found here
