Three Wiltshire students have been recognised as some of the South West's best young builders at Friday's regional heats of the SkillBuild competition.

Tested and recognised for skill, accuracy and practical knowledge in his field, Taddeus Ballam, a student at Wiltshire College won first place in the senior bricklaying category, sponsored by Hanson, and will now go on to represent the South West in the national final of the competition.

Tad, who is an apprentice with Grogan & Grogan said: "The day at Skillbuild has been brilliant. I have entered other competitions before and won, but I didn't expect to win this one. I'm now looking forward to competing in the national final."

Two other Wiltshire students also succeeded on the day; Catherine Blundell was awarded second place in the junior painting and decorating category, sponsored by Crown, and Jon Dowell won third place in the cabinet making category, sponsored by Irwin.

SkillBuild, managed by ConstructionSkills, the sector skills council for the construction industry, aims to promote excellence among young people entering the industry. Budding young builders competed against each other in a wide range of construction trades including bricklaying, carpentry, cabinet making, joinery and painting and decorating, at the regional heat held at Somerset College of Arts and Technology.

88 people from across the South West entered the competition, which was open to all 17 to 21 year old men and women currently training in construction through FE colleges or work-based apprenticeships at S/NVQ level 2-3.

Tad and four other people chosen as the South West finalists in the competition will now go on and compete against other regional winners in a major national final taking place in Leeds in October, in the hope of being crowned Britain's Building Idol.

Apprenticeships Manager for ConstructionSkills South West Gillian Cain, said: "The South West has some extremely talented young tradespeople who deserve to be recognised for their skills. It was great to see so many people competing in the regional final, helping to raise the profile of the industry and highlight the opportunities available to young people. The construction industry in the South West needs new recruits in order to meet demand and apprentices will play a vital part in this. However it is a two way process and we don't just need young people to join the industry but employers to train them up. "

Barbara Bennett, Head of Construction at Somerset College said: "I'm always amazed at the high level of skills demonstrated by students at these events. It is a really tough competition, we are really proud to host it and really pleased with the numbers of competitors taking part this year."

National winners will have the opportunity to go forward to represent their country in WorldSkills, held every two years in different cities across the world. The next WorldSkills will be held in 2009 in Calgary, Canada. In 2011, London is hosting WorldSkills.

For further information on careers in the construction industry or on how to find an apprentice please visit www.cskills.org/apprenticeships or call 0844 844 0046.