Top skills have been on display around the country at the English regional SkillPLUMB heats. Three talented young plumbers have topped the table at their respective events and now have a chance of progressing to the UK final to be held later this year.
The regional winners are:
- South of England: Owen Boswell of Suffolk New College and Sleep Safe.
- Midlands: Daniel Martins of Briggs & Forrester Group and EAS Mechanical/BEST.
- North of England: Thomas Strong of North Lakes Plumbing & Heating and Lakes College.
Judges scored Owen, Daniel and Thomas most highly in a task that involved the installation of copper pipework, including various jointing techniques and complex pipe bending. All work had to be completed to an extremely high standard and marked against tough criteria, including bend and joint quality, angles and clearance, task layout and pipework soundness.
The highest scoring competitors from all heats around the UK will be invited to the UK SkillPLUMB final, taking place during the WorldSkills UK Skills Show in November, at the Birmingham NEC.
Thomas Strong, 25, won the most recent event held at Hartlepool College of Further Education. “It was a nerve-racking time waiting to find out who’s won, so I’m happy to have done so well!” he said. “Everyone has been very supportive – my family, college and employer – so I’m pleased to have worked hard for myself and them.”
SkillPLUMB has The Copper Initiative as its premier sponsor and is organised by BPEC. Chichester College and South & City Birmingham College joined Hartlepool as the three host venues for the events.
To find out more about the competition, please visit ww.bpec.org.uk/the-bpec-charity/.