Leicester College student wins Midlands heat of SkillELECTRIC competition

11/08/2011

Sam Henshaw, a former student of Leicester College, beat 11 other competitors to win first place in the Midlands heat of the SkillELECTRIC competition organised by SummitSkills.  The task involved a challenging electrical installation of several circuits where judges awarded Sam with the most points against a strict assessment criteria including accuracy, quality and health & safety.

Neil Collishaw of SummitSkills, organiser of the event, said: “The quality of work from all competitors was very high and so Sam’s win is testament to his excellent attention to detail and knowledge of his trade. He’s certainly one of our industry’s rising stars.”

Sam will now go forward to a grand final in September where the highest scoring competitors from all heats will go head-to-head with peers from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and strive to be named the best in the UK. Speaking of his win, Sam said: “I was very nervous waiting for the winner to be announced – when my name was called out it was such a great feeling. I thought the lads I competed against did some excellent work so I’m really happy that the judges thought I was the top contender. The support of my employer has been invaluable”.

Neil McManus, Lecturer at Leicester College, spoke with pride at Sam’s win “Sam is a credit to himself, his family and his employer, who have supported Sam throughout the competition. He started at Leicester College on a level 1 course and quickly progressed through to level 2 because of his commitment to education and quality of workmanship.

Sam is the perfect student with excellent attendance, always polite and respectful to staff and his peers. He is supportive of others and takes a leading role. He deserves the entire accolade, as he always goes the extra distance to achieve”.

Currently employed by Lowe Electrical, Managing Director Jon Lowe said “Lowe Electrical are delighted with Sam’s success in the SkillELECTRIC competition. To his credit, Sam has achieved recognition not only through his hard work and determination but also through his willingness to learn and adopt the methods and procedures set out to all our apprentices and engineers alike”.