Louth student scoops top skills award

An Ardee student at Sligo IT apprentice has scooped one of the top awards at the IrelandSkills finals in Cork.

James McSwiney from Ardee is a joinery apprentice at the Institute, and is currently employed by the international Construction Company John Sisk & Sons. His craft skills were rewarded when he claimed first place and the prestigious Silver Medal for joinery at the national finals which were held at Cork IT.

The IrelandSkills National Compeititon, which has been running since 1957, promotes the pursuit of excellence and high level skills that are central to Ireland’s economic success and development. The competition disciplines range from aircraft maintenance to welding.

In the joinery final, James and his fellow apprentices worked from a detailed set of drawings to set out and make an intricate arched door from scratch within a maximum time limit of 19 hours.

‘It was challenging but exhilarating’, said a delighted James. ‘ The win came as a shock. But we put a lot of time into it spending most weekends training with John Joe (his mentor) and my work were good too in that they gave me time to prepare as the event got closer’.

James’s success continues a proud tradition IT Sligo success at the IrelandSkills final. It is the institute’s 16th national winner in carpentry and joinery since 2000.

He was trained at IT Sligo for the IrelandSkills final by Institute lecturer John Joe O’Reilly, who is himself a former Ireland Skills joinery winner and has been the Ireland Skills Joinery Chief Examiner since 2009.

James’s success now provides him with a platform to compete on the international stage as he will now have the opportunity to gain selection for the Ireland team which competes at the WorldSkills Finals in Abu Dhabi next October.

James’s success continues a strong IT Sligo tradition in recent years.