SkillELECTRIC North Winner Announced

Sean Simpson, 24, endured a grueling mock electrical installation before being crowned the winner of the SkillELECTRIC North of England competition.

Sean Simpson, of NG Bailey, has won the SkillELECTRIC North of England competition, beating nine other candidates to complete a five-hour mock electrical installation at the Leeds College of Building.

“I’m so pleased to have won,” said Sean. “I was nervous to begin with but I just did my best and thankfully it was good enough. It would be great if I got a place in the final, so I’m looking forward to hearing how well I’ve done overall.”

Jon Dicken, Technical Development Manager at industry charity NET, WorldSkills 2016 Competition Partner, said: “SkillELECTRIC provides the opportunity for the best in our industry to showcase their abilities and the technical skill and innovation required to work as an electrician. This is hugely important at a time when the industry is trying to recruit the next generation and competing with a wide range of apprenticeship programmes for the top talent. Sean has done brilliantly to win his regional heat – and I wish him all the best for his future career.”

“SkillELECTRIC provides the opportunity for the best in our industry to showcase their abilities and the technical skill and innovation required to work as an electrician.”

Speaking on behalf of WorldSkills UK Competitions, Dr Neil Bentley, said: “I offer my congratulations to Sean and wish him the best of luck.

“WorldSkills UK Competitions are proven to enhance a person’s apprenticeship or training programme by enabling them to develop key character and employability skills. By using knowledge gained from competing nationally and internationally, we know we are working to benchmarks that will equip more young people with the right skills to help UK businesses better compete globally.”

Steve Brawley, CEO of the Joint Industry Board (JIB), who are the premium sponsor for the 2016 SkillELECTRIC competition, said: “The JIB administers the Electrotechnical Certification Scheme (ECS) which accredits electricians who achieve the industry standard through their qualifications and experience. Every competitor in SkillELECTRIC is demonstrating skills at the very top of the scale and we applaud their performance and look forward to welcoming them into the scheme as gold card Electricians.”

Once all regional heats have been completed, the highest scoring competitors from across the UK will go forward to the grand final at The Skills Show, held between 17-19 November at the Birmingham NEC. At the event, competitors will face a gruelling three-day task in the quest to be named SkillELECTRIC UK champion.

SkillELECTRIC is organised by WorldSkills and NET. Competitors at the UK final have a chance to go forward and represent their country at the biennial WorldSkills event – the world’s largest skills competition. The next event takes place in 2019 in Kazan, where one of the previous SkillELECTRIC finalists will be representing the UK electrical industry.