Two 20-year-old stonemasons will be battling it out in Manchester next month for a place in the British team in next year\'s World Skills competition (what used to be known as the Skill Olympics) sponsored by Hanson.

The two men are Stephen Woolley and Royston Williams. Woolley comes from Uttoxeter, Staffordshire. He is a mason with Ian Knapper Stonemasonry and a student at the City of Bath College. Royston Williams comes from Chester-le-Street, County Durham. He works with Classic Masonry and is a student of York College.

At the Skillbuild international selection event in May the two men tied in first place. But as only one person can represent British stonemasonry in the team they were given until November to polish their skills and prepare to compete again.

During the three-day contest they will each have to produce a piece of masonry to drawings they are given.

The national Skillbuild competition and international World Skills contest is designed to promote training and is as relevant today as ever, especially in stonemasonry where 112 students enrolled in NVQ2 courses in 2001/2 and 50 on NVQ3. The Construction Industry Training Board says at least 200 new stonemasons are required each year just to keep pace with current workloads.

The World Skills conmpetition takes place every other year. The next one is in Gallen, Switzerland, in June next year.

Caption) Royston Williams (left) and Stephen Woolley are preparing to compete for a place in the British World Skills team.