Future Construction Talent on Show at SRC SkillBuild Intercampus Competition

The Faculty of Building Technology and Engineering at Southern Regional College hosted its annual SkillBuild Intercampus competition on Tuesday 3^rd February 2026 at the College’s Greenbank campus. The annual competition is designed to test skills, techniques, ability to work under time pressure while maintaining high professional standards.

Apprentices and Traineeship students from the College’s Armagh, Greenbank, and Portadown campuses competed for the opportunity to showcase skills with the aim of placing at the competition and being put forward to represent themselves, their employers and the College at the regional SkillBuild Northern Ireland (NI) competition taking place annually in May. If successful at the SkillBuild NI Regional competition students may advance to represent Northern Ireland at the SkillBuild UK National finals later in the year.

SkillBuild is a multi-trade competition for construction trainees and apprentices. The intercampus competition is the first stage of competition activity, with close to 70 competitors competing on the day across eight competition category areas, being bricklaying, cabinet making, carpentry, electrical installation, joinery, plastering, plumbing and wall & floor tiling. Competitors placing at the competition were rewarded for their efforts receiving vouchers, while separately all electrical installation participants received vouchers from City Electrical Factors (CEF).

In addition, preliminary competition activity aligned to WorldSkills UK was delivered in fabrication and welding, and automotive studies, with close to 30 students participating across campuses. Further WorldSkills UK preliminary competitions in automotive refinishing and automotive body repair are scheduled to take place in the coming weeks at the College’s Portadown campus.

Students placing at this years SkillBuild competition were:

In the preliminary WorldSkills UK intercampus competition, students placing were:

Mr Gareth Mone, Curriculum Area Manager at Southern Regional College commented:

“The annual intercampus SkillBuild competition once again brought together apprentices and trainees from across our campuses, all determined to prove themselves under real industry conditions. It is encouraging to see so many of our students step forward, push beyond their comfort zones and commit to the highest standards of workmanship. Competitions like this do more than test technical ability, they build resilience, confidence and pride in the trade. The level of skill and professionalism demonstrated this year shows that the future of our construction and engineering industries is in capable hands.”

Rachel Dorovatas, Director of Industry Training & Support at CITB NI, who attended the Intercampus SkillBuild competition commented:

“The SkillBuild Regional competition, showcases the fantastic variety of young talent coming through the industry. With the current skills gap, SkillBuild plays a vital role in promoting construction careers and attracting a diverse new generation into the sector.

Congratulations to all participants who have participated in the inter-campus and competitor selection process, with special recognition given to those who excelled in their respective trade categories. Their exceptional performance may provide an opportunity to further showcase their talents at the upcoming SkillBuild NI Regional Competition, scheduled to take place in Southern Regional College, Newry in May.”