The competition is designed to test skills, technique, and ability within tight timeframes, and identifies the top performers in 11 different trade areas within construction apprenticeship programmes from across Northern Ireland. It is a showcase of the wealth of talent and professionalism, and the brightest recruits throughout the industry.
Competing at ‘home’ helped boost the spirts of the SERC team who took three 1st, two 2nd and three 3rd places across five of the eleven competition areas.
In the Fire Security Installation competition, team SERC lifted all podium places, led by 1st place, Rebecca Wilson (Dromore) employed by Digital Fire & Security; 2nd place, Alex Punyer (Bangor) employed by Johnson Controls; and 3rd place, Owen Brady (Lisburn) employed by Beacon Fire& Security. All three apprentices are completing Level 3 Apprenticeship NI Fire & Security.
In Furniture & Cabinet Making, 1st place went to David Magee (Hillsborough) employed by Beresford Kitchens; and 3rd place went to Taylor Simpson (Lisburn) employed by Timbermark. Both are completing Level 3 Apprenticeship NI in Carpentry & Joinery.
Another 1st place, this time in Plastering, went to David Johnston (Saintfield) from the Level 3 Apprenticeship NI in Plastering and employed by Andrew Gill.
Second (2nd) place in Electrical went to Matthew Drysdale (Newtownards) Level 3 Apprenticeship NI in Electrical employed by CDM Electrical.
Third (3rd) place in Carpentry went to Matthew Rutherford (Bangor) from the Level 2 Apprenticeship NI in Carpentry & Joinery and employed by Gareth McCartney.
Placed winners may have the opportunity to represent Northern Ireland in the SkillBuild UK national final held later in the year.
Also to be commended and celebrated were nine more competitors from SERC who had reached the Regional Qualifier Competition of SkillBuild. These included, in Cabinet Making - Caine Tait (Dromore) employed by Aspire; Joinery - Aaron Emerson (Craigavon) employed by Adam Stephenson Building; Carpentry - Shea Murphy (Castlewellan) employed by Niall Murphy; Electrical - Phillip Catherwood (Belfast) employed by McDowell Electrical Services and Xander Lowham (Dromore) employed by WH Engineering; Plumbing - Jack Palmer (Dundrum) and Isaac Welsh (Newtownards); Wall & Floor Tiling - David Wright (Dundrum) employed by MG Construction; and Scott Kelleher (Lisburn) employed by SJS Tiling & Bathrooms.
Tommy Martin, Principal and Chief Executive, SERC said: “There was a palpable air of excitement around the CITB NI annual SkillBuild NI Regional Qualifier Competition hosted at SERC Downpatrick Campus. I have no doubt this was the same experience for all competitors, their tutors and mentors, employers, guests, and the hundreds of students and their teachers from local schools, who joined us on competition day.
“Hearty congratulations to all the winners and to those who made it to the regional qualifier, a feat which we also celebrate.
“We are of course immensely proud of our SERC team. To achieve three 1st places, two 2nd places and three 3rd places across five of the eleven competition areas is amazing. We wish you continued success if selected to represent Northern Ireland in the SkillBuild UK national final.”
Tommy concluded: “I would also like to congratulate and say thank you to all the lecturing, technician and support teams across SERC who have worked with CITB NI to deliver -I have been assured – one of the best SkillBuild NI Regional Qualifier Competitions. We have been delighted to welcome everyone to SERC Downpatrick Campus.”
Barry Neilson OBE, Chief Executive CITB NI, said: “A huge congratulations to all the apprentices who took part in the SkillBuild NI Regional Competition 2025. This competition is an opportunity for young people to meet with other like-minded people,who are dedicated to being involved in the future direction of the industry. It is also an opportunity to encourage and continue to develop the work force of the future – this is crucial for industry growth. I would like to take this opportunity to thank our partners CITB (GB) and SERC and look forward to the SkillBuild UK National Finals in November.”
SkillBuild is delivered by the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB GB) and showcases some of the brightest talent in construction. Supported by the Department for the Economy and local construction companies, the competition provides an opportunity to demonstrate the high level of skills and the impressive ability within the workforce, as well as raising the status and standards of professional and technical education and training.
