Dickies Workwear, the global brand with UK headquarters in Midsomer Norton, is sponsoring the largest multi-trade competition in the UK for construction trainees and apprentices.
Dickies’ sponsorship includes providing clothing and safety footwear for all national final contestants across SkillBuild, SkillELECTRIC and SkillPLUMB. 
SkillBuild is staged by the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB), while SkillELECTRIC and SkillPLUMB – the premier skills competitions for the UK’s electrical and plumbing industries – are run by National Electrotechnical Training (NET) and BPEC (British Plumbing Employers Council) respectively.
US-owned Dickies, which produces an extensive range of workwear including coveralls, trousers, shirts, jackets, fleeces and bodywarmers along with high-performance products such as foul weather protection, high visibility garments and flame-retardant items, is also sponsoring the APL Landscaping competitions organised by the Horticultural Trades Association.
Dickies supplied t-shirts for competitors at the regional heat stage of SkillBuild, including this Wednesday’s Stonemasonry qualifier at Bath College’s Radstock campus.
Dickies Workwear marketing director James Whitaker said: “We’re keen to help show the next generation that a job in the trades can be a great career and these competitions are an ideal way to do that.
“Having the right workwear for the job can play a big role in helping trainee tradespeople prepare for a successful career – both in terms of comfort, practicality and safety as well as creating a professional image.
“We wish all contestants taking part in this year’s competitions the best of luck and hope the workwear we’re providing gives them the support they need to do well in these contests and in their future careers.”
Dickies will also provide clothing and footwear for judges and delivery teams at the national finals for each competition, which will take place at WorldSkills UK LIVE 2019, the UK’s largest skills, apprenticeships and careers event, from November 21-23 at The NEC, Birmingham.
Dickies was launched in Texas in 1922 to produce work overalls and during the Second World War produced millions of uniforms for the US Army. Today it is to the world’s largest workwear manufacturer with operations across the globe.
The firm has been operating in the UK since 1989 and employs around 350 staff across its two buildings in Midsomer Norton.
