Next Steps 2013 winner tells people to ‘go for it’!

With just a few days left until the deadline of this year’s Next Steps competition, last year’s winner Keelan McNicholl-Edwards is encouraging anyone with an interest in the building trade to get their entries in.

Entries close this Friday (June 13) for Next Steps 2014, a competition which gives anyone aged 16 and over the chance to fast-track their career in the construction industry.

The annual competition is now in its fifth year, run by Carmarthenshire County Council’s Property Services team, Coleg Sir Gâr and Carmarthenshire Construction Training Association Ltd.

This year, Ammanford-based TRJ Ltd have joined forces with Lloyd & Gravell Ltd to offer an additional apprenticeship, so now, there are two opportunities up for grabs – one is an apprenticeship in plastering, and the other in civils (groundswork).

Keelan had just left school when he entered Next Steps last year, and a year on is mid-way through his apprenticeship with Lloyd & Gravell, which he has described as a “brilliant experience”.

He beat off competition from other competitors having spent the entire summer creating a sensory garden for adults with sever learning and physical disabilities at Llanelli’s Tir Einon respite centre.

Anyone in Carmarthenshire can enter so long as they are aged 16 or over, regardless of their gender, social background or previous skills.

“I would definitely encourage anyone who would like to go into the construction profession to enter the competition as it opens so many doors and you learn so much,” said Keelan.

“This is my future and without this opportunity I would not be where I am now. It’s hard work but it definitely worth it – just go for it.”

Read more of Keelan’s interview, find more information and download an application form from www.nextstepscarmarthenshire.co.uk