Lurgan lad Curtis returns home with a silver from Skillbuild final

Curtis is currently employed by Cross Refrigeration based in Armagh, and was among a talented quartet who also did well in the annual contest in the Southern Regional College, Portadown on March 24.

They were Gary McGaughey (refrigeration and air conditioning), Curtis Johnston (plastering), and Jack Ferrris (air conditioning) competed at the high profile competition and took home one gold medal, a silver and a bronze medal respectively.

Over 75 local construction apprentices gathered their tools to compete against each other in the annual contest.

Skillbuild NI, now in its 40th year, is supported by the Department for the Economy helping to assist with maintaining and raising the status and standards of professional and technical education and training.

The competition run and governed by CITB NI, is held annually each spring with many winners progressing further to represent Northern Ireland in the Skills Show UK and potentially at WorldSkills.

Skillbuild not only encourages competitors to improve their own skills, but provides an example of the high quality work being produced in training organisations and colleges across NI. The Skillbuild test pieces are designed to challenge the ability of apprentices to follow detailed instructions, test skills within tight timeframes, and produce neat and accurate work – all essential requirements for today’s construction environment.

Maurice Johnston, Chairman CITB NI said: “Skillbuild NI is about raising the standards of professional and technical education and training. We have a proud record of success at skills competitions.”