“There’s no point going in for it if you don’t think you can win,” declares SERC Carpentry tutor Gerald Magorrian.
He’s keeping an eye on two of his apprentices at the SERC Downpatrick Campus as they practice their craft in preparation for the Northern Ireland Skillbuild Finals later this month.
Odhran Barlow and Shea Murphy will be travelling to Southern Regional College on 19 May, along with other SERC apprentices from various trades, to pit themselves against representatives of other colleges and training organisations. Odhran (23) from Loughinisland, is a Level 3 Carpentry apprentice employed by Magorrian Construction. He is going into his third Skillbuild NI competition and is making the most of every opportunity to practise techniques. He says,
“There’s a bit of pressure, as you’re up against other people on the day; it’s all up to you as you’re on your own, drawing on skills and problem-solving and so on. You need to make sure your work is a good standard, but the practice and the experience all help with the job and the apprenticeship.”
Shea Murphy (18) from Castlewellan, is a Level 2 Carpentry apprentice employed by NM Joinery Contracts Ltd. He says he is looking forward to the NI Finals, but knows it won’t be easy:
“It’s my second time at Skillbuild, and doing it last year means you know what the competition is like, and that is: tough enough! Sure, I’m a wee bit nervous but that’s all part of it. I’m fairly confident we’ll be asked to do something along the lines of what we are doing today – we are building a porch roof (on a small scale) to a plan, cutting and measuring, and fitting the joints. It relates to what I do on the job, and I’ve been practising at home too.”
Also competing in the Carpentry section is 21-year-old SERC apprentice Matthew Rutherford from Bangor, who studies at the SERC Newtownards Campus. He brought home a medal from UK Skillbuild last November, but Downpatrick tutor Gerard Magorrian says there is very little between the three carpentry apprentices:
“You can usually see right away which ones come in with an aptitude and the right attitude, the ones who take pride in their work. They take that pride into competition. And they have all had to score highly in the campus and intercampus competitions at SERC to get this far. In the end, there can only be one first place winner and it’ll be tight, but we have to go in with confidence or not at all. I’m confident, anyway!”
Also representing SERC in the workshop will be apprentices Taylor Simpson from Lisburn, who is 23 and employed by Timbermark Lisburn, and David Magee (aged 20), from Hillsborough, employed by GR Contracts, who will be competing in the Furniture and Cabinet Making category as well as Level 3 Diploma student Aaron Emerson (29, from Craigavon) who is aiming for success in the joinery competition.
