There was delight on Saturday evening at the awards ceremony of the IMI Skills Auto Competitions as both Nationwide Technicians Theo and Lewis placed in the medal positions of their respective competitions.
Theodorus Tsouknidas, Paint Apprentice at Nationwide Cardiff and Lewis Owers (Pictured Right), Panel Apprentice at Nationwide Swavesey made it to the final of the IMI Skills Auto Competition at the Skills Show held at the NEC in Birmingham last week.
Both Theo (Auto Refinishing) who studies at Cardiff & Vale College & Lewis (Body Repair) who studies at Thatcham made it to the finals of the competition after the regional heats. At the event last week they have both been showcasing their skills up against five other apprentices from groups and training providers from around the country.
The Automotive Refinishing competition required Theo (Pictured Below) to undertake 6 separate tasks varying from scratch repair to quarter panel masking to identifying a spray gun defect designed to test technical skill and knowledge.
In the Body Repair competition Lewis had a variety of tasks to undertake involving applying repair techniques on vehicles and body panels that required in-depth knowledge of the procedures, techniques, materials and equipment used.
After two days of intense competition under the watchful eyes of the judges and the 80,000 visitors at the Skills Show, the results were confirmed and announced at the awards ceremony on Saturday evening.
In the Automotive Refinishing competition Theo was awarded with a bronze medal finishing a very respectable third in the competition. The result of the Body Repair competition saw Lewis finish in the silver medal position and was awarded second place in the competition.
Dale Carpenter, Theo’s Manager at Cardiff, expressed his delight of his Apprentice’s achievement saying; ‘We put Theo forward for the competition because of his ability and confidence he has in his work. We are really pleased that he has achieved third in the competition and believe he is going to have a great future with us as his career progresses.’
Kevin Anderson, General Manager at Swavesey, commented on Lewis’s success saying; ‘Lewis is very conscientious, he has a great work ethic, great work quality and is a great asset to the team at Swavesey. Once I heard that Lewis won Silver in the competition I was really happy and we are all so proud of him.’
All throughout the event the Nationwide Team have been in attendance supporting Theo & Lewis whilst exhibiting at the event with great pride that our colleagues have performed so valiantly in this high profile competition.
The Nationwide Team are extremely proud of what both our Technicians have achieved during the build-up and throughout the competition and would like to congratulate them both on their performance and medals – Well Done Guys!