Forterra has donated thousands of bricks to a national competition to find the best trainee construction talent in the UK.
Seven budding bricklayers from colleges across the country used our London Bricks in the final of SkillBuild, the largest multi-trade competition in the country, which also covers carpentry, plastering and roofing, at the Birmingham NEC, as part of WorldSkills UK.
The gold, silver and bronze medalists were:
- Gold – Morgan Chambers of Barnsley College
- Silver – Ifan Williams of Grwp Llandrillo Menai
- Bronze – Samuel Feddon of Carlisle College
SkillBuild, which is run by the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB), the body that administers the CSCS Test, has been running for nearly 40 years. Heats took place at more than a dozen colleges around the UK earlier this year, with the winners of each heat taking part in the final. Forterra donated thousands of London Bricks to each of the regional heats.
Gina Webster, Product Category Manager for CITB, said: “SkillBuild is a great way of showcasing what the most talented people in the building industry can do. We’re very grateful that Forterra has provided bricks for the 2018 SkillBuild final. Using high quality products like London Brick will prepare young bricklayers for when they are working on construction sites full-time.”
Forterra also set up a stand at the three day event in Birmingham and invited attendees to try their hand at bricklaying, using small foam bricks in a competition. Each of the finalists received a special brick with their name on it, made by Forterra’s experts at Cradley Heath.
Stephen Harrison, Chief Executive of Forterra, said; “We’re very proud to donate our London Bricks to be used as part of the regional heats and the national final of SkillBuild 2018. We plan to do more to support budding bricklayers studying at UK colleges, and help inspire the leading builders of the future.”
SkillBuild UK Finalists left to right - Morgan Chambers, Matthew Moore, Jed Smith, Samuel Feddon, Jason Neale, Oliver Ogden and Ifan Williams, with their named bricks from Forterra, at the Birmingham NEC.