Haverfordwest Apprentice within reach of National Title

• Conor Ratcliff has reached the virtual final of the Screwfix Trade Apprentice 2021 competition
• Apprentices from across the UK and Ireland have made the top 10
• Top prize is a £10k trade bundles of tools, technology, and training

The finalists of this year’s Screwfix Trade Apprentice competition are in and a joinery apprentice, from Haverfordwest, has earned a place.

Conor Ratcliff, 24, applied for the competition during lockdown and highlighted his bravery at a career change, passion to develop his skills, and drive to build a skatepark for a local youth club as reasons why he should earn a place in the final. He then impressed during the semi-final round to make the top 10.

During the final, on 22 and 23 April, each finalist will go through a virtual interview conducted by a panel of industry experts from the Federation of Master Builders, National Inspection Council for Electrical Installation Contracting and Chartered Institute of Plumbing and Heating Engineering.

Each finalist will also participate in a bespoke event from Google Digital Garage to upskill on Digital Marketing and Social Media Strategy as well as Writing for Social Media – vital training for when they start out their career. There will also be a product session from Google Nest.

Conor says: “This is a brilliant opportunity for me – I can’t quite believe I am through to the final! After working different jobs over the years, I realised that my passion for carpentry and joinery was so much stronger than anything else so went back to college to learn the trade.

“During the pandemic, college has been mainly working from home with a few practical lessons. To enable me to keep learning, I have taken on my own project by building a small indoor skatepark for a local youth club. Skateboarding has been a passion of mine from a very young age, so I am hoping to combine my love of joinery with skateboarding to become an established bespoke skateboard ramp designer and builder. This award would set me up to achieve that goal.”

At the end of the two-day session, one apprentice will take home the prestigious title of Screwfix Trade Apprentice 2021. Winning will open exciting opportunities for them to profile themselves to the trade and provide a platform to inspire future apprentices.

This year’s winner will receive the career-boosting trade bundle of £10k worth of tools, technology, and training to give them a kick-start to their career in the trade.

Simon Jackson, Screwfix Customer and Digital Director, said: “We’ve had a record number of entries this year from such a talented group of future tradespeople. Apprenticeships are vital to the trade and invaluable to the UK economy and it certainly looks like we are in safe hands with the standard of the applications we’ve seen this year. We’re looking forward to spending some time with our finalists and seeing who will earn the title – good luck!”

To find out more on the Screwfix Trade Apprentice competition, or to get advice about a career in the trade, please visit www.screwfix.com/sfta.