Gregor top apprentice for plumbing skills

Gregor McNee (back row centre) is pictured with his fellow competitors.

An Angus plumbing apprentice has been recognised as one of the top in Scotland in the field after a win at this year’s SkillsPLUMB competition.

Following a two-year gap due to Covid, the competition, which was held at Glasgow Clyde College in June, tested the apprentices’ skills and knowledge of best plumbing practice.

Held annually, the event is designed to promote high standards and skills across the plumbing industry by developing competence into excellence.

The competition was divided into two sections, Lead and Copper, as participants were given three hours to complete practical exercises in copper pipework or lead work before their work was to be critiqued assessed and marked by a panel of technical experts.

And Gregor McNee of Dundee & Angus College, who is employed by Tayside Boiler Services, came first in the Lead competition.

Organised by SNIPEF, Scotland and Northern Ireland’s plumbing and heating industry’s trade association, the competition involved close inspection of the entrants’ work by industry experts, after having their expertise tested on a series of challenging practical tests.

They were assessed on their individual knowledge, practical skills and employability attributes against set criteria in a competitively timed environment.

The action-packed day saw a total of 24 apprentices from colleges and training centres across Scotland competing for the top prizes.

As the Scotland regional heat for SkillPLUMB, the highest-scoring competitors in the copper competition may go onto represent Scotland in the WorldSkillsUK 2022 National Finals which will take place this November in Middlesbrough.

Jamie Hepburn MSP, Minister for Higher Education and Further Education, Youth Employment and Training, attended the event as the SkillPLUMB competition’s guest of honour.

Stephanie Lowe, Acting Chief Executive Officer of SNIPEF, said: “This great event would not be possible without the support of our partners, funders and sponsors to whom we wish to say a huge thank you, not least to Associated Lead Mills for supplying the lead and Mueller Europe for supplying the copper.”