23-year old Craig Fairweather was named 2022 SkillELECTRIC champion following a challenging two-day UK final event at Middlesbrough College. Scolmore Group was delighted to be involved in the competition, with Jake Green, Scolmore Head of Technical Engagement and Neil McManus, Scolmore Technical Engagement Engineer, part of the judging panel.   

As part of its commitment to support the electrical industry and to help develop the next generation of electricians, Scolmore Group first became an official partner with SkillELECTRIC in 2018 to support the organisation’s competition to find the UK’s best young electrician. The event, which is run in conjunction with WorldSkills UK, is designed to promote and showcase high standards and skills across the electrotechnical industry. It is organised by National Electrotechnical Training (NET).

Scolmore was delighted to once more have the opportunity to play a part in the judging process for the head-to-head stage of the recent competition which took place at WorldSkills UK LIVE, the UK’s largest skills and careers event, at the Middlesborough College, in November 2022.  The company also provided the competition with a range of products including sockets and switch accessories, lighting controls and ESP video door entry systems. In a first for this year, competitors were able to get hands-on with smart lighting and controls through wiring and operating Scolmore’s ClickSmart+ system, which allowed them to witness how future installations may look and the capabilities of smart systems. 

As part of the judging team, Jake and Neil had to assess how well the competitors performed in areas such as measuring accuracy (within 2mm), horizontal and vertical alignment, electrical terminations, functionality, containment symmetry, inspection, testing and safe working practices, including application of health and safety requirements.

Commenting on this year’s competition Jake Green said: “It was a fantastic experience to be involved with the WorldSkills this year and it turned out to be another thrilling final. It was great to see such a high standard of competitors from the industry showcasing their skills and knowledge throughout the tasks. The level of workmanship and professionalism of the competitors was very high throughout the competition and the event showcased some fantastic talent and commitment from the next generation of electricians.”

All finalists received a range of prizes which included a Scolmore goodie bag containing various products from the Click wiring accessories range - Aquip, Deco, Polar and Metal Clad - a Unicrimp product bundle, an ESP Fort Smart Security Kit and a variety of branded merchandise.