• Pick List (0)
  • About
  • Downloads
  • Contact Us
  • Products
  • Colour
    • Inspirational Colour Collections
    • Colour Trends
    • Colour Tools
    • Order colour samples
  • Training & Skills
  • Literature
  • Specification Services
  • News
    • Case Studies
  • Find a Stockist
  • Contact Us
You are here: Home / Crown Trade News / GATIS CELMINS CROWNED AS APPRENTICE DECORATOR OF THE YEAR 2019
Share
  • email

GATIS CELMINS CROWNED AS APPRENTICE DECORATOR OF THE YEAR 2019

1 year ago The Crown Trade Team

GATIS CELMINS CROWNED AS APPRENTICE DECORATOR OF THE YEAR 2019

Bell Group’s Gatis Celmins, 35, has emerged as the winner of the 2019 Apprentice Decorator of the Year competition after a gruelling three-day contest hosted at the WorldSkills UK LIVE event at Birmingham’s NEC.

The Inverness UHI apprentice triumphed over eight other finalists thanks to the quality of his careful setting out and excellent time management, completing the complex design we set to an exceptionally high standard.

Gatis had impressed the judges with his attention to detail and good brushwork in the regional heats earlier this year, but the final required a step up from all competitors, as well as the ability to deal with the pressure-cooker environment of the packed NEC conference hall, with lots of noise and potential distractions all around.

He was joined on the podium by silver medallist Lewis Metcalfe and bronze medallist Abi Johnson, both of whom studied at Leeds College of Building and are employed by Bagnalls.

In the final, the competitors had 18 hours over three days to complete the decorating challenge , which was a celebration of our 40-year sponsorship of the Apprentice Decorator of the Year competition and featured metallic paint as well as a complex multi-coloured streamer effect, half of which the finalists had to paint freehand.

All finalists were closely observed by a judging panel that included Crown Paints’ competition manager Kevin O’Donnell, and Ben Deer, himself a former Crown Paints Apprentice Decorator of the Year.

Gatis said: “Reaching the final meant a great deal to me, and I’m happy to have achieved one of my goals. I’m very proud of myself to be an Apprentice Decorator of the Year winner – it’s proof that hard work pays off.”

As well as marking the 40th anniversary of our sponsorship of the competition with the impressive final design, we also celebrated with the launch of the Apprentice Decorator of the Year 40th Anniversary Yearbook, which celebrates the past, present and future of the competition.

The Apprentice Decorator of the Year competition is organised by the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) and is also sponsored by other industry leaders such as British Gypsum.

The final was once again held as part of the SkillBuild event, organised by CITB as part of WorldSkills UK LIVE, at Birmingham’s NEC over three days from 21st to 23rd November. It is the largest multi-trade competition in the UK for construction trainees and apprentices and covers a range of skills and sectors from bricklaying and cabinet making to plastering and stonemasonry.

Latest news

  • Looking to the future with new warehouse in Hull
  • Crown lends a hand to support local charity
  • Clean up with Clean Extreme
  • CROWN PAINTS APPOINTED TO NHS SUPPLIER FRAMEWORK
  • CATCHING UP WITH THE 2019 APPRENTICE DECORATOR OF THE YEAR FINALISTS
  • We're giving apprentice decorators the chance to shine
  • CONTINUING OUR SUPPORT OF LOCAL COMMUNITY PROJECTS
  • Crown's colourful murals brighten up Darwen
  • Crown helps out with primary colours
  • Crown Paints to Showcase its housing specification services at virtual PfH Live
    Crown Trade Family
    The Crown Trade Family
    It’s not just paint.

    Interior Products

    • Woodwork & MDF
    • Primers & Preparation
    • Walls & Ceilings
    • Metal & PVCu
    • Fire Safety

    Exterior Products

    • Masonry
    • Metal
    • Metal Cladding
    • Primers & Preparation
    • PVCu
    • Wood

    General

    • About Crown Trade
    • Find a Stockist
    • Training & Skills
    • Pick List
    • Colour
    • Literature
    • Specification Services
    • News
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Complaints Policy
    • Privacy & Cookie Policy
    • Modern Slavery Statement

    Sign Up

    To keep up to date with Crown Paints information.

    Sign up here
    • © 2021 Crown Paints