A TRAINEE bricklayer from Worcester has reached the finals of a national construction competition.

Nineteen-years-old Jason Whitmore of Mayfield Road, Rainbow Hill, will head to Birmingham's NEC to compete in the SkillBuild 2014 final after being named in the top three bricklayers of the SkillBuild Midland regional heats. More than 60 young construction trainees are to battle it out in their chosen trade with skills such as bricklaying, wall and floor tiling and painting and decorating all being put to the test.

Mr Whitmore, who attended Tudor Grange Academy in Worcester and now studies at Worcester College of Technology, will face stiff competition from around the country, competing against trainees from Lincoln, Sheffield and York.

He said: "“I’m so pleased to be going through to the final of SkillBuild. My regional heat was a really tough day and I went up against lots of talented apprentices. It’s great to be representing my region in Birmingham, and I’m really looking forward to the competition in November. I’m especially looking forward to seeing what the other competitors can do because I know it will be stiff competition. Fingers crossed I’ll come out on top."

The National Final will see the top 10 competitors in their chosen trades, from across the 14 regional heats, contest at the Skills Show, which has taken place for around 40 years, travelling around the country looking for the best in regional talent. The competition is organised and supported by the Construction Industry Training Board, the Sector Skills Council and Industry Training Board for the construction industry.

Catherine Bullough, CITB sector strategy manager for the West Midlands region said:: “We’re really excited to hold the final of the 2014 SkillBuild competition in Birmingham. After seeing the abundance of construction talent on show at the regional heats, we’re looking forward to seeing what our apprentices can do on the national stage. SkillBuild is all about the way that people setting out on their construction career work. Most of the competitors are still learning so it’s not just about the finished article, it’s about the whole process that they go through."