Three Sunshine Coast school students, from the Australian Industry Trade College, have been recognised for their impressive skills in their respective trade areas.
Jedidiah Robertson, Brayde Turrall-Poulter and Jake Marlow were acknowledged at the WorldSkills Australia National Championships.
Jedidiah, 18, was awarded a gold medal in plumbing, with teammate Brayde, 16, taking home the silver medal.
Jake, 17, was also awarded a silver medal in the automotive services trade area.
Eliza Lane, Head of Industry Education at the AITC, was proud of all participants and she lauded the Queensland contingent and their medal haul.
“It is a phenomenal result. We value our staff, parents, TAFE Queensland and most importantly our employers, who have all played an integral role in shaping and supporting the honing of their technical talent,” she said.
A number of the TAFE Queensland competitors who were awarded gold medals are now eligible to be selected to join the Australian Skillaroos Team and compete at the 46th WorldSkills International Competition in Shanghai, China in October.
This opportunity will allow the young apprentices and trainees to showcase their skills on the international stage, competing against 75 member countries.
The national championships were hosted in Perth but due to COVID-19 restrictions the competition was also run in Queensland, South Australia and New South Wales.
TAFE Queensland Chief Executive Officer Mary Campbell said it was an outstanding achievement to have 30 TAFE Queensland apprentices and trainees awarded medals.
“My congratulations goes out to all of the apprentices and trainees who competed in this year’s championships,” she said.
“The hours of training and study that each competitor put into the championships is an illustration of their dedication to their trade and something that they should all be very proud of.’
WorldSkills Australia Queensland Manager Eric Davis has been involved with the championships since 2003 and said he was extremely pleased that competitors had the opportunity to compete and test their skills against Australia’s best.
“Having competed in the championships, the competitors are now more confident in themselves and have a greater understanding of their skill area and industry,” he said.
“Most importantly, competing has brought the competitors new confidence and knowledge that they can take back to their workplace that will benefit their employers, work colleagues and their industry.
“I look forward to the next stage of the competition when competitors from the Queensland Team gain selection to join the Australian Skillaroos Team and travel to China to compete on the international stage,” he said.
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The WorldSkills Australia National Championships is the largest vocational educational and excellence competition in Australia. It’s held every two years and competitors from across Australia put their skills to the test across over 50 different trade and skills areas.
This year, more than 400 competitors from 34 Australian regions competed in simulated work environments.
Competitors competed in a range of different skills areas including hairdressing, bricklaying, fashion, plumbing, heavy vehicle mechanics, electrical installation, information technology, retail butchery and cookery.
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The spotlight on apprenticeships and trainees as a professional career pathway continues to grow. The most recent release of national apprentice and trainee data from the National Centre for Vocational Education Research showed there were 297,920 apprentices and trainees in training across Australia at the end of last year.
Training commencements were up were up 141 per cent, from the December quarter in 2019.
For more information visit worldskills.org.au/ or to find out how you can get involved, call the WorldSkills Queensland Office on 07 3244 0230.
