What is SkillBuild?
All you need to know about the upcoming regional and national competitions.
SkillBuild
SkillBuild, delivered by CITB, is the largest multi-trade skills competition in the UK for construction trainees and apprentices.
SkillBuild National Final 2023
The National Finals are a result of the UK and devolved nations' best apprentices and learners battling it out against each other in the SkillBuild Regional Qualifiers to become one of the top 8 highest scoring competitors in their trade. You can view the Regional results here.
After over 1,000 registrations across 10 construction trades and 17 regional heats, the top 8 are due to compete at 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 Competition from Tuesday 21 to Thursday 23 November 2023.
The competitors will need to construct a project created by our expert panel of judges, over 3 days, within an 18-hour time frame. The competition project will test their knowledge, skills and abilities and will be marked by our expert panel of judges at the end of the 3-day competition. Competitors will also need to be able to work under pressure, within strict timelines, ensure they adhere to health and safety protocols and will need to impress with their talent and finesse.
Visitors are welcome to observe the competition and will have the opportunity to have a go at a range of inspiring activities that highlight construction trades at our designated careers experience hub, the Construction Showcase, open on Wednesday 22nd November 2023 from 10:00 to 15:00. There will also be an opportunity for visitors to attend our Continual Professional Development sessions which will be hosted by our expert panel of judges in all 10 of our trades. You can see our trade categories below.
The competition will be open to visitors on Wednesday 22 November 2023 and Thursday 23 November 2023 from 09:00.
We wish all of our National Finalists the best of luck – We look forward to seeing you all in November! See our Eventbrite page for tickets or more information:
This Year's National Finalists
Bricklaying
- Joseph Shingler - Shrewsbury college group
- Hidde Versloot - York college
- Niall Rice - Southern Regional College
- Tommi Lownes - Dudley College of Technology
- Archie Kitching - Leeds College of Building
- Kyle Blower - Shrewsbury College Group
- Jay Faber - East Anglia Brickwork Ltd
- Ben Walker - Oldham College J Walker Brickwork Ltd
Carpentry
- George Page - Suffolk New College (Rural)
- Glyn Paewai - Exeter College
- Osian James - Coleg Ceredigion
- Wade Montgomery - Warwickshire College Group
- Daniel Morgans - Coleg Ceredigion
- Thomas Knight - East Coast College/MS Oakes Ltd
- Bailey Gibson - Northern Regional College
- Dylan Magee - Belfast Metropolitan College
Furniture and Cabinet Making
- Ben Reed - Bill Cleyndert & Co
- Oliver Steel - Chichester College
- Nicky Read - Bill Cleyndert & Company
- Matt Turner - Bill Cleyndert
- Nathan Usher - Colchester Institute
- Kye Allen - Chichester College
- Matthew Mccarthy - Crawley College
- James Gramham - New College Durham
Joinery
- Gracia Brill - Edinburgh College
- Steffan Thomas - Coleg Ceredigion
- Tom Reid - Exeter College
- Jack Corner - Norton Joinery Ltd
- Chloe Bidwell - Varcity Living
- Josh Turnbull-Leask - The College Merthyr Tydfil
- Jamie Matthews - Northern Regional College
- Eric Phillips - Preston College
Painting and Decorating
- Anthony Collinge - Burnley College
- Shelby Fitzakerly - Chris Penny Painting & Decorating
- Sean Mitchell - Edinburgh College
- Kirsten Jackson - Bell Group
- Jacqui Hawthorne - Southern Regional College (SRC) Northern Ireland
- Courtney Maddison - Newcastle college
- Isobel Burnett - Lincoln College
- Erin Mc Knight - Southern Regional College
Plastering
- Newton Robinson - Leeds College of Building
- Josh Mcbride - Southern Regional College
- Aidan Friel - South Lanarkshire College
- Wesley Proud - Leeds College of Building
- Mark Straw - Nottingham College
- Jake More - RNN Group - Dearne Valley College
- Harry Sutherland - Grwp Llandrillo Menai
- Paul Brunton - Edinburgh College
Plastering and Drywall Systems
- Shaun McKenna - Errigal
- Luke Walsh - Errigal
- Daniel Fairclough - Leeds College of Building
- Thomas Donnelly - Errigal
- Joshia Buchanan - Errigal
- Thomas Aitchison - Errigal
- Nathan Richards - Leeds College of Building
- Owen Quinn - Errigal
Roof Slating and Tiling
- Jacob Blight - South Devon College
- George Jewitt-Knott - Leeds College of Building
- Aeron Murray - Leeds College of Building
- Daniel Sperry - Leeds College of Building
- Robert Young - Newcastle College
- Azyur Perera - South Devon College
- Hamish Morgan - Edinburgh College
- Luke Cosgrove - Edinburgh College
Stonemasonry
- Ruaridh Strachan - Forth Valley College / Historic Environment Scotland Skills Training Centre / Fife Council
- Augustus Gillick - Bath College
- Adam Lee - York college
- William Samson - City of Glasgow College
- Lewis Elder - Edinburgh College
- Charlie Jackson - Bath College / David Hall Stone Masonry
- Peter McLuskie - City of Glasgow College
- Mitchell Weaving - Building Crafts College
Wall and Floor Tiling
- Conor Braniff - Southern Regional College
- Patryk Niedoba - Southern Regional College
- Steven Andrews - City of Glasgow College
- Timothy Gilmore - North West Regional College
- Andrew Bell - City of Glasgow College
- Aram Elbadian - Cardiff and Vale college
- Sam Cowgill - M C Tiling
- Marshall Winder - Preston College
Get involved
Interact with the competition across social media by using the hashtag #SkillBuild2023.
Make sure to check out Go Construct on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube to keep up-to-date with the latest news and highlights of the competition.
If you have any questions about SkillBuild 2023, get in touch with us at skillbuild@citb.co.uk.