Edinburgh College apprentices get set to demolish the competition at UK skills show

Two Edinburgh College apprentices are ready to stencil, chisel and carve their way to success at a national skills competition this week, representing the city against UK rivals.

Apprentices Jordan Charters and Dan Macauley are at Birmingham’s NEC this week to compete at Skills Show, the nation’s largest skills and careers event.

Painting and Decorating apprentice Jordan, from Selkirk, will compete against 11 other finalists to the top £1,000 prize in the Crown Trade Apprentice Decorator of the Year competition.

Dan, a stonemasonry apprentice from Peebles, will be up against seven apprentices from around the UK in his Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) Skillbuild national final.

Both Jordan and Dan impressed judges in regional competitions to grab a place in the completion amongst the best in their trades from around the country. They’ll compete in timed skill tests, working to precise guidelines to produce impressive pieces of work against the clock.

Dan works for the firm Land Engineering on the McEwan Hall, on meticulous restoration being made as part of the redevelopment of the University of Edinburgh building.

He said: “We’ve been practising hard and doing lots of extra hours at college to make sure we’re ready for the competition. There’s an extra pressure in the competition because we have to work in front of a live audience.”

Jordan, who works for his father’s firm, George Charters, said: “It was an amazing feeling winning the Scottish regional heats, but I’m always looking to better myself. As soon as I sat down after gaining my certificate I was already thinking about the UK final.

“The work has to be really precise, the coverage of paint has to be perfect, the sizes and angles have to be perfect, and if you do go wrong you have to show that you are able to correct your mistakes and complete the exercise.

The Crown Trade Apprentice of the Year national competition, organised by Crown and Skillbuild, is the UK’s longest running showcase of talent for up-and-coming painters and decorators. It is an opportunity for students to demonstrate the skills and techniques they have mastered and to compete against their peers.