Wienerberger sponsors battle of the brickies

Promising bricklayers are being supported by leading brick manufacturer Wienerberger which is sponsoring the Guild of Bricklayers National Final.

The company has donated in excess of 55,000 bricks and more than GBP1500 to various bricklaying competitions across the UK this year and is backing the Guild final which will see 12 budding brickies from different regions go head to head in a six hour battle.

Competitions organised by the Guild of Bricklayers have seen students from Liverpool Community College, Harrogate College, Walsall College, Lincoln College Merthyr Tydfil College and City College Plymouth all benefit from brick donations.

Students taking part in other competitions organised by Skillbuild from further education colleges and independent training centres in Yorkshire, South East and West Midlands have also received a boost from Wienerberger's pledge of bricks.

Sales and marketing director for Wienerberger, Mark Morris, comments: "It's great to be able to help the next generation of bricklayers by providing high quality bricks to the competitions.

The standard has been very high this year and our commitment to the Guild of Bricklayers and Skillbuild ensures the standard continues to improve".

Guild of Bricklayers finalists will fight it out at North Lindsey College in Scunthorpe on 26th September and will be marked on speed, accuracy, neatness and attention to detail.

Malcolm Thorpe, Lead Judge for The Guild of Bricklayers said: "The standard of competition this year has been so good that we've had to expand the final to allow more bricklayers compete.

"The donation of bricks from Wienerberger has been greatly welcomed, it means that the competitors in the regional heats and the final have been able to build with confidence due to the high quality of the materials that they've been using," adds Malcolm.

Finalist, Lee Duty, 19, from Barnsley believes that the competition pushes the skills of competitors to the limit and that taking part can be valuable when applying for a job in the future; "There's a lot of pressure on me because I really want to win," says Lee.

"This gives me a chance to stand out as a bricklayer on a national stage and if I do well it will put me in good stead for the future.

Some people can get really competitive but I will be doing my best to remain focussed on my work as I've got a good chance of gaining another certificate to go in my portfolio".

"I've really enjoyed the competition as I've been able to really test the skills that I've learned over the last few years," continues Lee.

"Speed and accuracy are of great importance, I've got to be neat and finish in time.".

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