Apprentices show off skills in inter-island competition
IT MAY have been Valentine’s Day, but there was no love lost between teams from Guernsey, Jersey and the Isle of Man as the islands’ best apprentices faced off against each other as part of the second edition of a pan-island skills competition.
Held at The Guernsey Institute’s Coutanchez campus, the event formed part of this week’s National Apprenticeship Week, aiming to showcase and celebrate the talents of young individuals studying for qualifications in a number of vocational areas.
A total of 35 apprentices – 15 from Guernsey and 10 each from the other islands – competed across six trades, including carpentry, electrical, plumbing, welding and fabrication, trowel trades, and painting and decorating.
They took part in a series of timed challenges that tested their skills in their chosen trade, with the chance to demonstrate their expertise and problem-solving abilities to a judging panel of industry professionals.
Home advantage paid off for the Guernsey team, which emerged as overall winners of the event.
Among those flying the flag for Guernsey was aspiring plumber Harvey Setters, 18, who along with five others had been tasked with fitting a set of pipes together.
Having worked out what was required in terms of the layout, he said he had needed to cut, level, clean, solder and finally polish the pipes he was working with, as well as make sure he got all his measurements accurate.
‘The straight lengths of pipe were pretty easy, the bends were difficult though, finding the mark so it was in the right place was hard.’
‘But it’s satisfying once it all comes together. I take a lot of pride in my work.’
In the painting and decorating section, Guernsey’s Pierce De Carteret, 19, was working on a door frame model using a range of techniques, including stencilling, stippling, and free-hand drawing.
‘I’ve been a bit worried about the whole thing to be honest, if you get one bit wrong the whole thing can go wrong,’ he said.
‘But I’ve tried to treat it like a normal work day, that takes the pressure off.’
He added he was particularly proud of his sponge effect work.
Among the visiting participants was Isle of Man apprentice plumber Ollie Millar, 18.
He has taken part in skills competitions in his home island before, but this was his first time travelling abroad to compete.
‘It’s been really good, nice to do and something a bit different,’ he said.
‘Some of it has been quite technical and I had to use some maths to work out a few measurements but I’ve managed to get everything done within the time limit.’
The Guernsey Institute director of apprenticeships Chris Torode said the event had been ‘tremendous’.
‘The place has had a real buzz the whole day, the amount of effort the apprentices have put into their work has been incredible to see.
‘To see them all start from scratch and then deliver something tenable at the end of six hours of work is a really great effort.’
He added those judging the competition had been impressed by the standard of work on
show.
‘These are judges from award-winning organisations, to hear them speak about what they’ve seen today in the way that they have is really positive, and bodes well for the future.’
