Williams wins Northland Regional ITaB Challenge

Williams wins Northland Regional ITaB Challenge

Brendon Williams is the Northland Regional NorthTec-ITaB (Industry Training Association Building) winner after the eight- hour Carpentry Apprentice Challenge held on Saturday (March 23) at NorthTec’s Future Trades School on Dyer Street, Whangarei.

“Entrants were tested in a variety of fields – forward planning, time management, practical skills, safety procedures, structural compliance with the building code, weather proofing methods and aesthetic sensibilities,” NorthTec Carpentry tutor Mark Pearson said.

“It was a very close competition with high skill levels displayed by the entrants who were under tight time pressures. It was a really tough choice but in the end Brendon was a touch ahead of the others. The whole exercise was also a good chance to network with builders and other apprentices as well as tests their skill levels against those of their peers.”

ITaB development manager Buster Coughtrey, who travelled up from Tauranga to help judge the Challenge said he was impressed with what he saw through the day.

“If it wasn’t the nature of it being a Challenge and being judged in a competition they probably would have been a lot more advanced in the requirements for the challenge, but no doubt about it, they were all very competent in the work they completed,” Mr Coughtrey said.

The Challenge required building three walls, cladding them with weatherboard and correctly fitting and weather proofing a window.

As the winner, Williams earns an all-expenses paid trip to the Certified Builders conference in Blenheim in May to compete with other regional finalists for the title of National Apprentice of the Year.

All participating contestants, Williams, Mark Gray (Pete Brown Builders); Scott Irving (Pete Brown Builders); and Mike Ferris (Dave Millar Builders) all received generous prize packs from the sponsors, including power tools.

Sponsors for the Challenge were: Subway, PlaceMakers, ITM, DeWalt, and Fletcher Aluminium.

NorthTec is the Tai Tokerau (Northland) region's largest provider of tertiary education, with campuses and learning centres in Whangarei, Kerikeri, Rāwene, Kaikohe and Kaitaia. NorthTec also has over 60 community-based delivery points from Coatesville in rural Rodney to Ngataki in the Far North.

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