Three Wall & Floor Tiling apprentices from Southern Regional College’s (SRC) Newry Greenbank campus are set to compete at the National SkillBuild Finals to be held in Milton Keynes from 17-19 November 2026.
The trio consisting of Pearse McDonnell (17) from Forkhill, Kristopher McIlrath (18) from Madden, Armagh and Alan Holubowicz (18) from Tandragee were announced as being within the top eight highest scorers within their category across 17 regional qualifiers held earlier this year.
The final is three days long and will see competitors constructing a project within 18 hours. There will be a panel made up of expert judges who will be assessing them on a number of characteristics, including technical ability, time management, problem solving, working under pressure, and compliance with health and safety requirements.
Mrs Lee Campbell, Principal & Chief Executive of Southern Regional College commented:
"Success in a skilled profession comes from turning up, working hard and taking pride in what you do. Pearse, Kristopher and Alan have done exactly that and their success in reaching the National SkillBuild Finals is well deserved.”
“Competitions like SkillBuild give young people the chance to put everything they've learned into practice, and we are delighted to see three of our apprentices competing on this national stage. We wish them every success in this upcoming competition."
Robert Smith, Product Manager (Careers) at CITB, said:
“A huge congratulations to all the competitors that have earned their place at the 2026 SkillBuild National Final, it’s a great achievement and a testament to their hard work.”
“With the increased demand for construction skills, events like SkillBuild are more important than ever to highlight the industry and wide variety of career choices and our shared role in building a stronger workforce.”
“The quality of the participants this year is truly amazing, I am looking forward to the National Final and wish all the competitors the best of luck.”
