A FORMER Pembrokeshire College student from Rhos has scooped silver in the national final of SkillBuild, the UK's largest skills competition, making him one of the best young joiners in the UK.

Rhydian Williams, aged 20, secured his place in the final after taking part in the Welsh Regional Heats held at Coleg Sir Gar in June.

Aimed at finding the UK's most talented trainee tradesperson, Rhydian then went through to the three-day final held at Coleg Menai from September 8-10, where competitors competed against the clock in a 19-hour marathon demonstrating their skills by producing work based as accurately as possible on drawings unveiled at the start of the competition.

The final concluded with a grand awards dinner held in the main arena at Venue Cymru in Llandudno where Rhydian was presented with his prize.

Having completed the NVQ 2 and 3 in carpentry at Pembrokeshire College, whilst serving his apprenticeship with Bugols of Narberth, Rhydian has now taken up an instructor post at the college, putting his skills to good use in training the next generation of joiners and carpenters.

On winning silver, Rhydian said: "For the final I was up against 11 other regional finalists. We had 19 hours to make a door curved head with curved glazing bars as well as louvre windows. The SkillBuild competitions have been a really good experience and have taught me how to work under pressure as well as helping me to secure the role of an instructor at the college."

Chris Curtis, lecturer in carpentry at the college, attended the finals with Rhydian and commented: "To achieve silver in the national finals of such a prestigious and widely recognised joinery competition is an excellent achievement for Rhydian and to find out he was only two marks short of achieving the gold medal shows the quality of his craftsmanship.

"Throughout his time as a student at the college, Rhydian consistently produced work of an exceptional standard. In his new role as an instructor at the college, Rhydian will undoubtedly be an outstanding role model for the students to follow."

Glyn Jones OBE, principal of Pembrokeshire College, added: "This is an excellent achievement for Rhydian who is the latest in a long line of students to achieve success at UK level during the last academic year and confirms our reputation for producing highly skilled tradespeople."

The next step for Rhydian is competing in November for a place on the UK squad for WorldSkills 2011, the biggest international skills competition in the world. The skills equivalent of the Olympics, London will be the host city for next year's competition which will give young people the chance to compete against the best from throughout the world.