A South Eastern Regional College (SERC) Level 3 Fire and Security Apprentice has taken First Place at the WorldSkills UK National Finals first ever competition for Fire Detection & Alarm Systems.
Alexander Wallace (27), from Saintfield, was announced as the winner at the Security and Fire Excellence Awards supported by IFSEC and FIREX at a glittering ceremony hosted at the London Hilton on Park Lane this week, followed by a WorldSkills UK online Medal Ceremony hosted by Steph McGovern from her Channel 4 Packed Lunch studio.
Alexander put his skills to the test at the WorldSkills competition – often referred to as the ‘skills Olympics’ – in Essex, 14-18 November, when he was up against eight other finalists from across the UK.
Speaking about his win, Alexander, who is employed by BPS and tutored and mentored by Robin Hamill at SERC said: “I managed to get all the tasks necessary for installing and commissioning an alarm system completed but it was a very tight competition. I am absolutely thrilled with the result. It has been a brilliant experience taking part in WorldSkills – the mentoring, additional training and meeting other competitors and hearing different perspectives from people working in the industry has been fantastic.
“I want to thank Gavin Maskey, my Supervisor in BPS and the company for their support, and my lecturer Robin Hamill at SERC for all the mentoring and training which has proved invaluable.”
No stranger to competitions, Alexander was one of six apprentices from SERC who competed in the IFSEC and FIREX Engineers of Tomorrow competition in May at the annual IFSEC International 2022 at London’s ExCeL.
His podium place in the annual SkillBuild held at CITB in June secured his spot in the national finals for WorldSkills alongside fellow SERC apprentice Jonny Hamilton from Bangor, who was unfortunately unable to compete due to illness.
Robin Hamill, SERC Lecturer in Fire & Security who travelled to England to support Alexander for the competitions and announcement of the win said: “I am immensely proud of Alexander and all that he has achieved for himself. He put in additional hours of training and pushed himself to be to be the best. He is most deserving of this WorldSkillsUK title, and I am especially delighted that the first ever win for this competition went to an apprentice from SERC.
“SERC has worked hard to develop the fire and security systems apprenticeship. Working in partnership with employers and leaders in the sector, together we ensure apprentices are equipped with the skills, knowledge and experience for flourishing careers and are ready to meet the demands for this growth industry.”
Owen Nelson and Callen Logan, both Skills for Security students, finished a close second and third in the competition respectively.
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