The PDA helped to scrutinise the work of the fifteen young contestants who came together to compete for the Crown Trade title and generous prize money. National President David Higgins joined the judging panel and Chief Executive David Powis also attended the event, held at South Birmingham College in October, announcing the Association’s support for the Crown Trade contest, which has been sponsored by the professional paint brand for over 27 years.
In an unusual turn of events, two young men from the same region walked away with first and second prizes in the 2007 final. 21-year-old Christopher Jenkins from Bristol won the title of ‘Crown Trade Young Decorator of the Year and received the coveted trophy and a cheque for £1000. Christopher, an employee of Bagnalls in Bristol and a former student of City of Bristol College, was a ‘first-timer’ in the competition but proved to be an exceptionally competent contestant and was a clear winner in the final.
Hot on his heels was 19-year old Ben Howell from Taunton, an apprentice at Seddon in Bristol and a student at Somerset College of Arts and Technology. Ben had previously been pipped at the post by Christopher in the South West regional heat of the competition. As one of the country’s highest scoring regional runners up, Ben was granted a last minute place in the national final. Once again he came second but this time received a cheque for £500 for his efforts.
18-year-old Leah Corbridge from Accrington finished in third place, returning to Lancashire with a cheque for £250. Leah, an apprentice at W N Powell & Sons in Great Harwood and a third year student at Accrington & Rossendale College, had previously won the North West regional heat on her home territory in June.
The Crown Trade Young Decorator competition is for young people serving apprenticeships and/or studying for NVQ’s (SVQ’s in Scotland) and is the most well established and highly regarded skills contest of its type. It is organised under the ‘umbrella’ of Skillbuild, the annual CITB-backed skills extravaganza which encourages tradesmen and women of the future, in different parts of the construction industry, to excel at their craft and to showcase their talents. Participants enter one-day regional heats and are given a ‘test piece’ to complete. The regional winners and the very highest runners-up go though to the three day final in the Autumn.
In the decorating final, competitors are faced with a rather more complex piece to complete. This tests their ability to carefully plan and schedule a number of tasks (allowing for drying time, etc); achieve high quality finishes using different Crown Trade coatings; hang paper (working around obstacles), and create graphics freehand and using Frisk and masking tape. Critically, they are required to scale up detailed drawings and set them out on the wall with a high degree of accuracy.
David Higgins, National President of the PDA said: “It’s great to see these young people working so hard and so carefully, using top level skills that are at risk of dying out. To succeed at this level these men and women have to have a really keen eye for detail, a very steady hand and a great amount of forethought. I’m pleased by what I’ve seen here…Crown Trade is showing the way forward.”
David Powis said: “This is clearly the premier competition for young people embarking on a career in painting and decorating and it’s very well regarded in the trade, so we’re very keen to lend our support and official endorsement. We’re delighted to be associated with initiatives like this that not only encourage new blood into the industry but that also promote training and high standards of craftmanship. I’m extremely impressed with what I’ve seen at this event and I hope this will be the first of many years of active support from the Association.”
Debbie Orr, Crown Trade Brand Manager said; “We’re very pleased to have the PDA on board. It won’t be long before we start a new search to find the nation’s finest young decorators of 2008 and we look forward to seeing contractor members of the Association putting their most talented apprentices forward next year.”
She explained; ”There are very tangible benefits for every participant. Tutors inevitably give extra coaching to those entering our competition and our technical team gives full support to the competitors at every stage during the contest. This means skill levels increase, new techniques are learned and confidence levels are boosted, often immeasurably. And obviously for those who win, there are financial rewards to be gained too. The employer benefits in turn from having a more accomplished, more self-reliant and more confident apprentice in the workforce.”
For further information about next year’s contest and for application forms, please contact Skillbuild on 01323 645882.
