Alastair Mason, 28, from Dorset has won the Gold Medal in the National Final of SkillBuild. At the conclusion of three days of gruelling competition, he received his medal on Saturday, 17 November, at a glittering awards ceremony. Alastair works for St White's Stone and is a student at Weymouth College
The competition was held in conjunction with the Skills Show at Birmingham’s NEC.
Luke Kingston, 27, from Bristol took Silver and Joseph Nelson, 23, from Chelmsford in Essex won Bronze. There is a list of all the participants below.
SkillBuild is managed by the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB), with endorsement from WorldSkills UK.
The SkillBuild 2013 UK Final was a competition among the top-scoring entrants from regional heats. Like WorldSkills, which is held every two years in different parts of the World, SkillBuild is a competition involving various vocational skills. As well as stonemasonry, the categories include Bricklaying, Joinery, Carpentry, Plastering and tiling.
In Tiling, Martin McLaughlin, a student at North West Regional College in Limavady, Northern Ireland, took the Gold Medal.
The winners received their Awards at the high-profile ceremony at the conclusion of the event in the evening of Saturday 16 November, attended by industry leaders and sponsors.
Mike Bialyj, Director of Employer Services at CITB, said at the event: “This year’s SkillBuild has been a fantastic success and it’s always a pleasure to bring together the construction industry’s brightest talent in this nationwide competition.
“SkillBuild encourages excellence, helps to raise standards in training and is an exciting way to showcase the outstanding talent in the construction industry. We’re proud of all the finalists, who have demonstrated work of an exceptionally high standard.”
For CITB information about the event and all the winners, click here.
There were 124 competitors in the finals. The stonemasonry contestants were:
• Jonathan Cowell - York College
• Connor Crawford - Elgin Stonemasonry Unit
• Justin Cross - Weymouth College
• Joshua Davis - Moulton College
• John Reid - Elgin Stonemasonry Unit
• Robert Girvan - Moulton College
• Luke Kingston - Bath College
• Alastair Mason - Weymouth College
• Jospeh Nelson - Moulton College
• Jordan Vincent - Weymouth College
The Skills Show, which grew out of WorldSkills in London in 2011, intends to inspire and transforms young people’s lives. Its stated aim is to change the way we think about skills, training and apprenticeships. Read more about the Show.