Trainee roofers from across England and Ireland have been put through their paces at the UK’s largest construction skills competition.

Supported by Sandtoft, Skillbuild 2011 has seen 44 young slaters and tilers battle it out in a bid to be crowned the best in their trade. Sandtoft has supplied just over 17,000 concrete plain tiles, hips and eaves for all of the regional heats which took place at nine different colleges between April and May. The company will also provide around 4000 plain tiles and various fittings for the national final which will take place between 14th – 16th September 2011 at Leeds College of Building

Sandtoft’s training manager Simon Dixon, who has 30 years’ roofing experience, was a regional judge. He said: “Skillbuild is an excellent opportunity for budding roofers to demonstrate and improve their skills, so we welcomed the chance to show our support again this year.

“It was a pleasure to judge the heats which showcased a huge amount of talent and potential. These young tradesmen are the future of our industry. They will play a major role in its future success and ensure that businesses can maintain a competitive edge.”

Kevin Taylor, the NFRC’s Technical and Training Officer, who is responsible for Skillbuild said: ‘’Skillbuild requires an enormous amount of time and commitment to stage each year, and we rely heavily on the support of our Associate Members. I can’t speak highly enough of Sandtoft as a sponsor; nothing is too much trouble when it comes to providing materials or judges for both the heats and finals.”