For the first time, the best finishers in Russia were selected at 100+ TechnoBuild

The professional skills competition among finishers "I am a master" was held for the first time at the International Construction Forum and the 100+ TechnoBuild exhibition. Representatives of craftsman communities from eight regions of Russia competed for three days in various specializations: an installer of frame and cladding structures, a tiler and a painter.

According to the assignment, each team first had to build a complex-shaped structure of frame partitions based on KNAUF sheets, then tile and wallpaper. As a result, the team from Krasnodar became the winner, Chelyabinsk masters took the second place, Kurgan masters took the third.

As noted by the head of marketing at KNAUF Artem Matusevich, the decision to hold the competition in the fields of 100+ was made against the background of a trend when craftsmen from all over Russia began to gather in communities.

"Such contests allow us to show all market participants how important skill is today. And at many professional development sessions, we see that there is a problem — there is no understanding of what to teach, who to teach, there is no understanding of how many people are in the industry. Therefore, such an event will make it possible to highlight this community and provide it with the level of competence that it needs," Matusevich believes.

Another reason for the competition was the growing popularity of individual housing construction in Russia. According to Igor Tretyakov, director of the Ural Sales Directorate, by the end of 2021, 49.1 million square meters were built by individual developers, which is 23.4% more than a year earlier. At the same time, the share of residential housing in the total volume of commissioning was 53%. According to the results of the first quarter of this year, commissioning increased by 87.4% to 18.3 million square meters (62% share of residential housing in the total volume of commissioning).

A discussion on "Developing communities of craftsmen in the regions" was also organized as part of the competition. According to the leader of the Krasnodar community of craftsmen, Vitaly Byelorus, there are currently four fundamental communities operating in the regions of Russia, and about 15 more are in the process of formation.

"Paradoxically, the repair and finishing sector is filled with people, as a rule, without professional education, self-taught. Therefore, it is important to pay attention to why this is happening, perhaps something is wrong with our education. In search of knowledge, we unite on this principle – we help each other, give advice, collect this knowledge, accumulate it," the Belarusian stressed.

He noted that the knowledge that students receive now is irrelevant and outdated in many things, and generally does not meet modern market requirements.

"And our Russian market, without exaggeration, is the best in the world for all solutions. The quality of the work provided by Russian craftsmen and the solutions we use are the best solutions. And in order to meet this standard, in order to gain knowledge, we need some kind of vocational training centers, some kind of education system that will allow us to teach people basic things," says an expert in the construction industry.

The organizers plan to make the contest of masters for 100+ TechnoBuild traditional.