Chichester College apprentice wins bronze

A Chichester College apprentice has won a prestigious award for his furniture making skills.

Apprentice Kye Allen won bronze during a three-day furniture making competition at the recent SkillBuild National Final .

The event showcased the most skilled and talented apprentices in construction and tested their time-keeping, knowledge and skills and their ability to work under pressure while ensuring they adhere to health and safety protocols.

The nineteen-year-old, who studied furniture making at Chichester College while undergoing his apprenticeship in his third and final year, said: “It feels good to win bronze. There was a lot of work that went into the chest of drawers that I made and I didn’t expect the outcome I got at all due to a small mistake I made at the start.

“I basically cut it the wrong way around, as it’s supposed to go like a herringbone, but instead I done it straight and cut it at the wrong angle. I learnt from it.”

The event was held at the Marshall Arena, Milton Keynes, from 21 to 23 November, and saw traders battling it out for the top spot of their industry, which included: bricklaying, carpentry, furniture and cabinet making, joinery, painting and decorating, plastering and drywall systems, wood slating and tiling, stonemasonry and wall and floor tiling.

Kye said: “My friends and family are proud. They all said how good it was to get the bronze medal.

“My employer also messaged me first thing in the morning saying how pleased he was of me. It feels good to make my employer, family and college lecturers proud of me.”

Kye has been working at Edward Johnson furniture makers for over a year.

Furniture making lecturer, Sean Casey said: “I think he’s going from strength to strength. He’s very quiet but he has that real flare and passion.

“He’s got a really good employer so he’s well-placed. He’s in the first steps of his career and he’s winning awards already, so he’s off to a flying start. I’m proud of him.”