A Newcastle College apprentice is celebrating after reaching the finals of a prestigious national construction skills competition.

Plastering Apprentice Niall Hancock (above, right) took first place in the North East SkillBuild regional heat last month and has since been announced as one of just eight plastering learners in the country to reach the national final.

SkillBuild is the nation’s largest construction skills, apprenticeships, and careers event. The North East qualifier - one of 19 regional qualifiers that took place across the country - was held at Newcastle College on 27 June. The competition involved 70 competitors from 18 colleges and training providers across the North of England, Northern Ireland and Scotland.

Students from Newcastle College took a third of the top three places available across four of the six disciplines.

Plastering Tutor David Willis said: “I’m so proud of Niall for getting to the National finals again. He came third in last year’s, and he was determined to enter again to see if he could get the top spot this time. He’s worked so hard, and he absolutely deserves this recognition.”

Now that all regional heats have been completed, the top eight students from each discipline – including Niall - have been invited to the Marshall Arena, Milton Keynes to battle it out for a final time to be crowned the winner in their trade at the SkillBuild national final.

Alan Green, Head of Construction (Building Services) at Newcastle College said: “I’m so proud of all the construction learners and apprentices who took part in the North East regional qualifier, and I’m ecstatic for Niall! He was determined to get to the final this year after placing third in the regionals last year, so I’m really pleased for him. It’s a great achievement to even enter a competition like this, let alone make it all the way to the final! Great work Niall, we look forward to seeing how you get on in November.”

Chris Slack, SkillBuild Event Coordinator added: “Competitions are really important for students; they expose them to a new way of working, especially with the timed element. With SkillBuild specifically, we’re trying to find the best in the industry. These qualifiers push the learners’ skills, test their knowledge and give them exposure to experts who can give them really useful feedback.”

View the full list of national finalists on the Go Construct website