Double gold for apprentice plumbers

Two Shetland residents have won gold medals in the regional heats to find the best apprentice plumber aged under 23 in the UK.

David Blewett, won the gold medal at the North of England SkillPlumb Heat which was held at Leeds College of Building last Thursday.

David, who is in his second year at Shetland Gas Supplies, did particularly well on the copper pipework exercise. Last year he was placed third in the same competition.

His employer was delighted with his achievement and praised the instruction and guidance that David had from both Moray College UHI and from Alan Keith at the workplace.

At the weekend Alasdair Scott won the gold medal at the SNIPEF SkillPlumb competition at Edinburgh College for the Scotland heat.

He was awarded first place in the sheet leadwork section and placed first overall at the competition after two days of practical work and a theory test paper.

Alasdair is in the third year of his apprenticeship which he started in Shetland with T Rowley Plumbing and Heating Services before transferring to work for Dunster Biomass Heating in Forres.

Plumbing apprenticeships in Shetland are organised and co-ordinated through Train Shetland with block release attendance at Moray College UHI in Elgin.

Moray College curriculum leader Jim Mackinnon was at both competitions along with Alasdair and David and was delighted with the standard of work produced by them.

He said: “These competitions have challenging practical and theory work and I think this is a fantastic achievement from two very motivated young men. Well done to Shetland.”

Alasdair and David are now waiting to see who will now be selected for the UK SkillPlumb finals in Birmingham in November.

The selection has only eight going through to the final and it all depends on the points scored in heats. The competition Alasdair and David are hoping to get into tests the competitors applied skills that demonstrate excellence in their chosen trade.

This SkillsShow is held over the course of four days where there are 70 different competitions among all the trades to find out who is the best. It is the largest skills and careers event in the country where hundreds of different industries are represented.