Adam
McGarry of Wiltshire College has been announced as ‘UK Champion’ in this year’s
landscaping competition after winning gold at the Association of Professional
Landscapers (APL) WorldSkills UK final.
Daniel
McGeoghegan took silver and Sam Taylor took bronze. Both Daniel and Sam are
currently enrolled at Myerscough College, completing the acclaimed Industry led
APL Apprentice Scheme.
The
competitors were also competing for a place in Squad UK where they have a
chance to represent the UK at international level. Last year’s finalist, Shea
Mcferran from CAFRE returned this year to complete for his place and secured
his space on the squad along with Sam Taylor, Josh Dow and Kelvin White.
The
APL WorldSkills final took place last week from 16-18 November at The Skills
Show held at the Birmingham NEC in front of over 100,000 visitors over the
three days. The first of four days was a training and familiarisation day, then
the competitors had 16 hours to individually build a garden from scratch
designed by head judge and technical lead, Jody Lidgard. Competitors were
required to work within tolerances between 3-8mm on measurements provided.
Adam spoke to us after
receiving his award and said: “I don’t really know how I feel at the moment, I
wasn’t expecting it at all! It was a great experience and found it a true test
to push myself.”
The
semi-finals had seen a change from previous years with the event moving away
from RHS Tatton Park Flower Show, and having more of a focus on the training
and development of the competitors. Over three days (21-24 August), ten
semi-finalists had tasks to complete including paving, decking, walling, plant
ident, procurement and working to a client’s brief. This was held at a training
facility within Myerscough College, and JA Jones Nursery and Cash and Carry.
During
the final competitors were marked on elements such as block paving, paving
including recessed drain cover detail, timberwork (which included decking and
fencing), planting, health and safety and the overall appearance of the garden.
The final also included a plant ident created by JA Jones and designed to test
the competitors plant knowledge.
This
year’s competitors were Ryan Bell from
Myerscough College, Thomas Cartledge from
Reaseheath College, Josh Dow from J D
Gardening, Adam McGarry from Wiltshire
College, Daniel McGeoghegan from
Myerscough College, Samuel Taylor from
Myerscough College and Kelvin White from
Reaseheath College.
Judges
for the competition included Head Judge Jody Lidgard of Bespoke Outdoor Spaces
and Landscape Skills Academy, Steve Smith of Shore Landscapes, Phil Tremayne
APL General Manager and 2011 WorldSkillsUK Silver medal winner and
International training manager, Simon Abbott.
The
APL would like to thank sponsors Green-Tech, J A Jones, Makita and Marshalls
for their support of the competition, without whom this would not be possible.
