SRC Automotive Apprentices Win Big at Northern Ireland Regional Skills Competition

Apprentices from Southern Regional College’s (SRC) Automotive Paint Refinishing and Vehicle Accident Body Repair Principles courses have experienced success, taking top honours at the Northern Ireland regional heats for Automotive Refinishing and Body Panel repairs earlier this year.

The competition, held at Riverpark Training in Mallusk, showcased the best up-and-coming talent in the industry. SRC competitors Jack Harvison and Jack Currie stood out from the crowd taking 1^st and 2^nd place in the Automotive Refinishing category, with fellow apprenticeship student Joe Cullen placing 3^rd in the Automotive Body Repair category.

All three students train at SRC’s Portadown campus, home to state-of-the-art facilities for automotive respraying and bodywork. Jack Harvison and Joe Cullen are progressing to the WorldSkills UK competition series and will compete in the Coventry qualifiers in May.

Paint Refinishing apprentices Jack Harvison and Jack Currie were understandably delighted with this success at the regional competition. Jack Currie reflecting on his second-place finish said,

“I had a lot of nerves going into the competition, but it helped having my classmate there. I did what I was taught and got a good outcome. I didn’t expect to place second in the competition but was delighted to do so, especially alongside my classmate Jack who finished first.”

The two Jacks faced a long day of competition activity being required to complete 4 demanding tasks within a tight timeframe. Tasks included preparing a new panel for paint application and respraying, which itself was a two staged operation requiring clear and colour coats; repairing a damaged plastic panel; polishing out a scored panel and a colour matching test.

Fellow student Joe Cullen from Portadown who was competing in the Body Repair category faced an equally arduous day being required to undertake numerous tasks including the removal and refit of a car sill panel, spot welding, a dedicated Mig welding tasking involving both horizontal and vertical joints, plus repairs involving isopon fillers and metal finishes.

All are currently level 3 apprentices at SRC’s Portadown campus having successfully completed and progressed from the level 2 apprenticeship courses at SRC, Portadown. The trio work within the automotive industry applying the skills and knowledge they have acquired through hands on, workshop based learning.

Read more about the Paint Refinishing level 2 apprenticeship here and the level 3 apprenticeship here. Information on the Body Repair level 2 apprenticeship can be found here and the level 3 apprenticeship here.