The search to find the next NICEIC and ELECSA Apprentice of the Year is down to the final eight.
The final group will battle it out over a series of practical tests at the headquarters of competition sponsor Scolmore on 6 June.
More than 400 young women and men signed up to the contest which recognises the talents of the brightest electrical students in the UK.
Julie Blake, senior marketing manager at Certsure, which operates the NICEIC and ELECSA brands, said: “The standard of candidates has been very high this year. The qualifying pass rate for the online exam (stage one) went up from 65% to 70% and it has been a tough process, but we are excited about the upcoming final.
“We have witnessed more entries from Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales which demonstrates the growing appeal of the competition. The overall standard and general level of enthusiasm shown by everyone is a credit to the industry.”
The final eight are:
Elliot Booth from Newport. Elliot is employed by Peter Booth Electrical and attends Total People College.
Hayden Smith from Colchester. Hayden is employed by S Scott Electrical and attends Colchester Institute.
George Maynard from Leicester. George is employed by Geddes Electrical.
Michael Costello from Edinburgh. Michael is employed by Arthur McKay and attends Edinburgh College.
Curtis Le-Grice from Plymouth. Curtis is employed by Jah Electrical Services and attends DCET Training College.
Billy Stapleton from London. Billy is employed by Bancroft Ltd and attends Barking and Dagenham College.
Joshua Broniman from Dyfed, Wales. Joshua is employed by Darren Hoyland Electrical and attends Pembrokeshire College.
Ben Elliott from Oxford. Ben is employed by CDC Electrical and attends Culham Science Centre.
The finalists have had to battle through two stages of the contest, which began back in November last year. The first stage of the contest was an online exam comprising of a variety of questions relating to electrical installations.
The top 20% performing students then progressed to stage 2 – a written 1 ½ hour exam held at six locations across the UK.
Marie Parry, Scolmore Group’s marketing director said: “Our aim is to build on the success of last year’s competition and the results so far are very encouraging – we’ve had more entries and from a wider area, a higher exam pass rate and more female apprentices applied.
“This demonstrates the wealth of talent and enthusiasm there is out there among the next generation of electricians and we are looking forward to another highly charged finals day.”
Each finalist will now receive an iPad with a host of other prizes up for grabs including a £2000 holiday voucher for the winner, which can be spent on a trip of their choice. There is a £750 holiday voucher for the runner up and £250 for third place