This November saw the exciting climax of the longest running annual skills event for newcomers to the painting and decorating industry: the national final of Crown Trade Apprentice Decorator of the Year Competition.

This highly regarded competition, sponsored by decorative coatings manufacturer Crown Paints for over 36 successive years, touches the lives of hundreds of apprentices and trainees at the start of their careers, encouraging them to strive for excellence in their craft and reach the very highest professional standards.

For the P&D competitors, this year’s final was their chance to show their tutors, their employers and the panel of expert judges, how well they had mastered the skills and techniques required of a professional decorator, and to win generous prize money. For Crown Paints it was an opportunity to showcase the talents and reward the achievements of nine ambitious highly trained young men and women, and to promote the appeal and rewarding nature of a painting and decorating career to the tens of thousands of schoolchildren and young adults attending the show.

”As one of the largest coatings manufacturers in the UK we have a responsibility to invest in the painting and decorating industry, to attract newcomers who are keen to train and gain qualifications, and to promote the very highest standards,” said Debbie Orr, Crown Paints Trade Marketing Manager.