Young brickie awarded medal at world championships

A young British bricklayer has returned from the world championships in Shanghai with a Medal for Excellence and a fourth-place finish.

Joe Shingler from Shrewsbury was pitting his skills against bricklayers from 23 other countries and said it was "a really tough competition".

The 21-year-old had to build two walls over four days, to very exact specifications, with even a few millimetres of error leading to lost points.

Shingler had been been building up to the WorkSkills event for the last 18 months, but said he now planned to "hang up his trowel" and become a site manager for his father's firm.

Shingler and the other competitors were given tasks to perform which they were then judged on by experts.

A designer from Ireland drew up the tasks, which he saw on the morning of the competition

Shingler said: "It's designed in a way that is very intricate.

"There's a lot of cutting involved, so complex cutting angles, radiuses, different shapes and patterns that we have to build into the wall."

At the same time, he said the contestants had to maintain the "production of a site brick layer" and it was tough to keep up both the quality and quantity of the work.

WorldSkills Shanghai 2026 took place between 22 and 27 September and featured 1,400 young people from 68 countries.

They competed in 64 skill competitions, with categories ranging from aircraft engineering and robotics to hairdressing and floristry.

Before travelling to Shanghai, Shingler spent time practising with competitors from other countries, including Denmark and France.

He said he learned that bricklaying was done differently in other parts of the world, but everyone had to stick to common standards for the competiton.

The contest was performed in front of a large crowd and Shingler said: "It's a very intense 22 hours.

"It was very hot in the building and it was tough."

His event was won by China, but he said he was pleased with his fourth-place finish.

He finished with 719 points, just six points off third place and 30 off first.

"It was just making sure that I executed the skills I had," he said.

During his 12 days away, he had time to see some of the sights too, and said Shanghai was "vast".

"Just skyscrapers and building the architecture is unbelievable. It's a different world out there."

Looking to the future, he said he thought "a lot of people would be surprised" at his decision to give up bricklaying in favour of site management.

But he will remain in the industry which he first became hooked on when he was 15 years old and helping his father build his house.

Shingler said: "I helped him out whilst I was still at school, evenings and weekends, and I loved every second of it and have done ever since."

Follow BBC Shropshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.