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Silver medal at prestigious national final for EKC Student

Folkestone College student Michael Granger took a prestigious Silver medal at this year’s WorldSkills UK National Finals.

The 22-year-old Plastering Level 3 student, returned from the WorldSkills national finals on Saturday 22 November having been in Birmingham for the NEC based event since Wednesday.

When asked how Michael got into construction, he replied “Plastering is in the family, my Dad has always been in the industry.”

With his father being the inspiration for starting the course, Michael has since found the construction industry very enjoyable. He said: “I like working towards an end goal that brings joy to others and pride to myself.”

Michael enjoyed the competitive nature of the WorldSkills UK National Finals and was very happy to achieve a silver medal from his category. The competition receives about 15,000 applications from students studying either at college or apprenticeships from a wide variety of subject areas. These vary from Professional Catering to Floristry and is a great way to showcase the variety of skills and subjects to be learnt in a college environment.

Despite achieving one of the highest possible accolades for his subject, Michael is just like every other student, admitting to a guilty pleasure of “Domino’s two for Tuesdays.” In his spare time, Michael’s enjoys a number of technical hobbies, highlighting his interest in continuingly developing his technical skillset. He said: “I like learning new things, at the moment I’m learning a lot about engines and mechanics” showing how driven this young man is.

Michael aspires to be a workshop foreman saying it’s a position he feels would be a good way to show career progression.

He’s a great believer in inspiring others to get into the construction sector as well, saying: “Construction is an easy industry to get into and it’s a very rewarding industry as well as a nice working environment. With the increased demand for skilled workers there will be plenty of work available and also a lot of money to be earnt.”