MAX Kinchin, a carpentry apprentice from Bridgwater has been selected as a finalist in a national construction competition to be held at Birmingham’s NEC.

Max, aged 21, will head to Birmingham to compete in the SkillBuild 2014 final after being named in the top three carpenters of the SkillBuild regional heats in Plymouth.

More than 60 young construction trainees will battle it out in their chosen trade with skills such as carpentry, wall and floor tiling and painting and decorating all being put to the test.

Max, who studies at Bridgwater College, will face stiff competition from around the country, competing against trainees from Essex, Cambridge and Norfolk.

Max said: “After winning the south west regional skillbuild I am now looking forward to the next step of the challenge and competing in the national competition, testing my ability further.

“I am especially looking forward to meeting like-minded and talented competitors and very excited at the opportunity to win a place in the final.”

The National Final in Birmingham will see the top ten competitors in their chosen trades, from across the 14 regional heats, contest at the Skills Show at Birmingham’s NEC next month.

The competition is organised and supported by the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB), the Sector Skills Council and Industry Training Board for the construction industry.

Janette Welton-Pai, CITB’s Sector strategy manager for the South West said: “We’re really excited to hold the final of the 2014 SkillBuild competition in Birmingham.

“After seeing the abundance of construction talent on show at the regional heats, we’re looking forward to seeing what our apprentices can do on the national stage.”