SkillWeld 2010 regional winner announced after a heated competition!
26/02/2010
The South East regional heat was once again held at Central Sussex College
Central Sussex College once again played host to the biennial SkillWeld South East regional competition, which took place on Tuesday 23 and Wednesday 24 February in the Welding workshops at the Crawley campus.
Seventeen entrants from Central Sussex College joined other six students from colleges across the South East and entrants from two local engineering companies to battle it out for the top prize, and the chance to compete in the national competition, with the possibility of being selected to represent the UK at the WorldSkills event in London in 2011.
After a closely-fought contest, first place went to Jake Rambaldini from Doosan Babcock, with second place going to Central Sussex College student Alex Boxall. The 23 year old who lives in Horsham and works for Matan in Horsham, a manufacturer of sheet metal, is undertaking an Advanced Apprenticeship in Engineering (Welding & Fabrication) at the College, having progressed from level 2. Pleased to have scooped second place, Alex said "This is the second SkillWeld competition I've entered and I found it much tougher this time round in terms of the welding tasks we had to complete and level of skills displayed by the other competitors taking part."
Joint third place went to Kieran Roberston, aged 23 from Portslade, who is undertaking Level 2 Apprenticeship in Engineering (Welding & Fabrication) at Central Sussex College whilst working for LJ Engineering in Portslade, and Jason Green, who was representing City College Plymouth.
Bob Chase, Curriculum Team Leader for Welding, and SkillWeld event Co-ordinator, was impressed by the level of skill demonstrated this year, as well as the commitment shown by competitors who travelled from across the region to compete, saying "This is the third regional SkillWeld competition hosted by the College and it was great to have competitors joining us from further afield this year, from Canterbury College and City College Plymouth. I'm really please for our students who achieved 2nd and 3rd places and congratulate Jake Rambaldini fro Doosan Babcock for coming 1st place."
Chris Holland from BOC Industrial attended both days of the competition, and said that the company was proud to be associated with Central Sussex College, with the quality of entries a tribute to the dedication and skill of the participants and the College staff. "BOC Industrial is delighted to sponsor the event alongside Air Products and it's great to see returning competitors - it demonstrates that competitions such as SkillWeld add a new dimension to the whole learning experience for them."
