Mary Gore, National Skills Champion 2010
The 53rd annual National Skills Competition ended today with a lavish awards ceremony in the Round Room at Dublin’s Mansion House attended the by the current occupant the Lord Mayor himself. Sponsored by Snickers Workwear [disclosure: client] for the 5th year in a row, the competition pitted apprentices from all over Ireland, head-to-head in 13 trades.
Run by the Dublin Institute of Technology, the competition tested every aspect of the skill and workmanship of the apprentices over an intense period of two and a half days – imagine sitting a the equivalent of a practical exam over two and half days. That’s intense stuff for young apprentices, but will probably be more pressure than they will ever face on the job, so it will serve well in their chosen careers.
We’ve had great interest from RTE this week with the competition featuring on the RTE’s Six One and Nine O’Clock News. The News featured an interview with Mary Gore, who’s at the front of the photo above; she’s now Ireland’s National Car Painting Champion. National Skills will also feature on the Thursday’s Capital D programme at 7pm on RTE1. We’ve also had great support in the press with the papers all over country featuring their local winners.
“The numbers of apprentices in Ireland is down 86%[1] since the boom” said David Macken, Managing Director of Snickers Workwear (Ireland) Limited. He added: “most of the firms in the competition, which are still supporting apprentices, are SMEs such as auto technicians, auto dody painters and repairers, builders, narpenters and furniture makers, electricians, painter & decorators, plumbers, sheet metal workers etc. They are the backbone of our economy and should be supported by the government and applauded by their community.”
Snickers Workwear provided all the clothing for the competitors, who were kitted out from head to toe in gear from Europe’s leading Workwear manufacturer.
The National Skills Champions in each trade were as follows:
Aircraft Maintenance
Name: Padraig Molloy
From: Nurney, Co. Kildare
Employer: Dublin Aerospace, Dublin Airport
Automobile Technology
Name: Brian Durning
From: Creeslough, Co. Donegal
Employer: Creeslough Tyre & Battery Centre, Co. Donegal
Autobody Repair
Name: Justin Moore
From: Carlow
Employer: Nigel Pratt, Bennekerry, Carlow
Beauty Therapy
Name: Claire Cullen
From: Foxrock, Dublin
College: Dun Laoghaire CFE
Bricklaying
Name: Paul Molloy
From: New Ross, Co. Wexford
Employer: Self Employed (student at WIT)
Cabinet Making
Name: Gerard O’Loughlin
From: Inagh, Co. Clare
College: Institute of Technology, Galway/Mayo Letterfrack
Car Painting
Name: Mary Gore
From: Clonsaugh, Dublin
Employer: Lois Colley Motors Ltd., Santry, Dublin
Cookery
Name: Colm O’Sullivan
From: Kenmare, Co. Kerry
Employer: Mulcahy Restaurant, Kenmare, Co. Kerry
Heavy Vehicle Mechanics
Name: Colm Carberry
From: Kilcock, Co. Kildare
Employer: Bus Eireann, Phibsboro, Dublin
Painting & Decorating
Name: Daniel Pepper
From: Ballyphehane, Cork
Employer: Mr. Eddie Pepper, Ballyphehane, Cork
Plumbing
Name: Shane Stringer
From: Doolin, Co. Clare
Employer: Albert Stringer, Doolin, Co. Clare
Polymechanics
Name: Fintan Collins
From: Dunmanway, Co. Cork
Employer: Port of Cork Company, Cork
Sheetmetal Work
Name: Michael Savage
From: Clondalkin, Dublin
Employer: Chambers Engineering, Coolock, Dublin
These winners will now have a chance to represent Ireland at the 2010 World Skills competition in London. World Skills has been dubbed the Olympics for tradesmen. For World Skills 2011 please see: http://www.worldskillslondon2011.com/
Photos or interviews with any of the winners can be obtained from Simon Palmer of Republic PR; tel: 01 282 2504, email: simon@republicpr.ie or Twitter: @simonprepublic.
About Snickers Workwear
Snickers manufacture and provide workwear for professional tradesmen and service people. Their products are renowned for their quality, function and innovative solutions. The company was founded in Sweden in 1975 and since then has grown strongly so that today, Snickers Workwear is one of Europe’s leading brands in work wear, and is represented in 15 countries.
Snickers was founded by Matti Viio who worked as an electrician from 1959 to 1972 Whilst in those years working methods, technology, materials and tools evolved, but workwear was still the same as in the mid-nineteenth century. Workwear failed to fill modern requirements concerning function, comfort and design with manufacturers showing no interest in the workers real needs. In the end Matti Viio designed his own garments to work in.
Sophisticated testing and quality control procedures are carried out at every stage of the process, from the moment a new design leaves the drawing board through to final quality certification. Snickers Workwear makes relevant functions on durable and reliable garments to fit the roughest conditions.
About Dublin Institute of Technology
Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT) is one of Ireland’s largest and most innovative institutions of higher education. It is credited with the development of technical education in Ireland in the late 19th century and continues to build on this tradition, providing education from certificate to doctorate level.
The Institute currently has some 20,000 students, fulltime and part-time, studying at all levels from certificate to Doctorate.
DIT is part of the landscape of Dublin city, with six major campus locations around the city centre. A new single campus for DIT is being developed at Grangegorman
End
[1] Figures compiled from FAS new intakes 2004/05 to 2009/10
11/04/2011 4:34 pm | 
