IN Brief:
- SkillBuild 2026 will run 17 regional qualifiers between 17 March and 4 June.
- The opening rounds start in York and Plymouth, with trade-specific one-day tasks and advance practice drawings released for the first time.
- The highest-scoring competitors in each skill will progress to the national final as the sector continues to face significant labour demand.
CITB‘s SkillBuild 2026 regional qualifiers begin on 17 March at York College, where stonemasonry opens this year’s competition calendar. A second qualifier follows on 19 March at City College Plymouth, covering bricklaying, site carpentry, bench joinery, painting and decorating, and plastering. In total, 17 qualifiers will run across the UK before the series concludes at Coleg Cambria on 4 June.
Each qualifier lasts one day and is built around a practical task linked to the competitor’s trade. This year’s programme covers bricklaying, carpentry, drylining, furniture and cabinet making, joinery, painting and decorating, plastering, roof slating and tiling, stonemasonry, and wall and floor tiling. Project drawings for the regional qualifiers have also been released in advance for 2026, giving competitors more time to prepare before the live rounds begin.
After the regional stage, marks are collated and the eight highest-scoring competitors in each specialist skill move forward to the SkillBuild National Final. The event opens against a backdrop of sustained labour demand, with CITB projecting that the UK construction sector will need 47,860 extra workers a year across 2025 to 2029. Further information on dates, venues and practice drawings is available on the SkillBuild page.
