A young bricklayer from South Holland is pitting his skills against the best in his subject.
An apprentice at the University Academy Holbeach until the end of last year, Jacob Kelk is making a name for himself in the trade.
He took a fantastic second place at the national finals of SkillBuild which were held in Milton Keynes last November.
But he has been named as a member of the UK WorldSkills squad and could be heading to Shanghai for the world finals in September 2026.
Jacob took part in the regional qualifiers which were held at various colleges around the country before heading to the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes.
Over the course of three days he was tasked to construct a project designed by a panel of expert judges within an 18 hour time frame.
The UK squad for WorldSkills is working towards the prestigious final next year when it is being held in China for the first time.
“Jacob has done amazingly well and we are all incredibly proud of him,” said Paul Greehy, construction teacher at UAH.
“Considering some of the colleges we have been up against have 120 apprentices, and we have four or five, it’s a great achievement for both Jacob and our school.
“To come second in the nationals was a real achievement.”
WorldSkills UK is working with a pool of 80 young people on its 18-month intensive training programme aiming to make it into the final team to represent the country.
Jacob was an apprentice bricklayer with Allison Homes for around two years and now works full time.
“He is really talented and is also very quiet about his success. I have to message him to find out how well he has done,” said Mr Greehy. “To come second in the nationals was amazing.
“Jacob has been on a couple of the training camps and it will all look great on his CV.”
