She is one of a growing band of female apprentices who are training through the college.

Debbie became interested in painting and decorating when she helped decorate her parents home and also her aunt's.

She said: "I've always enjoyed the artistic side of painting and decorating and I get a tremendous amount of pleasure from seeing a difficult job done to the best of my abilities. I place a huge amount of importance on attention to detail and I'm used to working to high standards with JKM.

"I'm up against 13 other competitors at the final so I'll be a little bit nervous as I don't know what they'll ask me to do but I just have to make sure that I go in and concentrate on my own work."

JKM Managing Director Jim Mitchell said: "Debbie is a super painter and decorator and is a real asset to the JKM team. She does well in the competitions as she keeps a level head and pays attention to detail.

"We carry out a wide range of work throughout the region for a variety of clients and Debbie's success can only instil further confidence in the professional work we carry out each and every day on behalf of our customers."

The SkillBuild national final takes place in Birmingham from 10 - 12 th October.

If Debbie is successful she will go on to represent the UK in the bi-annual world final in Canada in 2009.