Apprentice of the Year competition

The annual Painting and Decorating Association Apprentice of the Year competition offers trainees from across the UK the opportunity to test their skills against their peers.

The PDA is urging people looking at their career options to consider a role in the industry and has a range of support for apprentices, including the Apprentice/Trainee of the Year, and the Apprentice Paperhanger of the Year contests.

According to the Construction Industry Training Board’s (CITB) Construction Skills Network, there’s a substantial demand for painters and decorators. Their figures forecast that 1,580 new painters and decorators are needed every year until 2022 to meet increasing demand.

The Apprentice/Trainee of the Year competition is a six-hour contest where competitors are tasked with replicating a given design, testing not only their accuracy and skill, but their ability to perform under pressure.

Finalists will be invited to the Premier Trophy Awards Ceremony on Thursday 1 July 2021 at Plaisterers’ Hall, London, where the winner is announced.

To enter the Painting and Decorating Association Apprentice of the Year 2021 competition, fill out the application form and return by Friday 23rd April 2021: 2021 Apprentice Entry Form – A4 Web

The competition was cancelled in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. In 2019, a record number of apprentices took part in six-hour sessions, with 11 students competing at Accrington and Rossendale College and a further 17 at Bournemouth and Poole College.

 

The three finalists announced at the 2019 Premier Trophy Awards were:

1st Lewis Boyle – Alfred Bagnall & Sons Ltd/Leeds College of Building

2nd Abi Johnson – Bradford Council/Leeds College of Building

3rd Megan Talbot – Oliver Gladwin/Accrington & Rossendale College

Congratulations and well done to these competitors!