A bricklaying apprentice from Leicester College is celebrating after taking the silver medal at the WorldSkills 2013 national final, which took place at the NEC in November 2013.

Tom Sinfield at the competiton

Tom Sinfield, 20, from Shepshed, Loughborough, had already triumphed at regional heat of SkillBuild and went on to successfully compete against the other highest scorers nationally at the WorldSkills Show, the UK’s biggest skills and careers show.

The Brickwork Apprentice will now work towards his aim to join the UK squad for the global WorldSkills competition in Brazil in 2015.

Tom, who is employed by Jelson Ltd, said he is proud of representing Leicester College and showcasing his skills he has learnt.

He said: “To win a silver medal is just an amazing result. I’ve been working very hard for the last few months and have been practicing and training to get through and it has really paid off.
“It’s been worth the effort and now I’m working hard to secure my next aim on getting to Brazil.”

Tom’s tutor, Keith Binns, Brick work lecturer at Leicester College has supported Tom throughout the competition. He said: “Tom performed really well throughout the event, there were aspects of his work that he could of done better and by his own admission he encountered a couple of challenging moments on Day One but on the whole he performed very well producing work of an excellent standard.

He coped well with the technical, physical and mental demands that a three-day competition brings.
Tom represented himself, his employer and the college admirably. I am immensely proud of him and his achievements and look forward to working with him and in helping him in his aim to reach Team UK for Brazil 2015.”

This year has been very successful for Tom. Earlier in June, Tom reached the national final of the Guild of Bricklayers competition which took place in Cardiff.

WorldSkills UK Competitions inspire young people and adults to be ambitious in their pursuit of skills to the highest level and are the highlight of The Skills Show. During The Skills Show, over 700 of the UK’s most talented apprentices, employees and learners battled it out in 70 Competitions ranging from Forensic Science to Floristry to be named the ‘best in the UK’ in their chosen skill.

Skills and Enterprise Minister, Matthew Hancock said: “Congratulations to all of this year’s winners. Skills are vital to the future of our country and it’s great to see so many talented young people taking part and demonstrating their expertise. I hope today’s winners will inspire others to begin learning a new skill which could lead to a new career and then to become the stars of tomorrow.”

Competitors from this year’s cycle of WorldSkills UK Competitions may be eligible to compete for a place in the team that will represent the UK at WorldSkills Sao Paulo 2015. The WorldSkills Competition takes place every two years in cities around the globe and is the largest international skills competition.