Dear SkillsOne readers,
It's with great pleasure we congratulate Australia’s WorldSkills team, the Skillaroos, who returned from the WorldSkills International Competition in Shizuoka, Japan with Australia’s best ever result! Their hard work, high standards and passion demonstrate the value of trade skills to Australia and the vast opportunities for both women and men.
This year, the Skillaroo’s improved Australia’s ranking in from our previous place of 9th upto 5th in the world after competing with some 63 countries in the Olympics-style event.
All 27 members of the Skillaroos team have shown great talent and dedication to achieve skills excellence over the past 12 months as is now reflected in their outstanding result at WorldSkills.
Breaking down some 'traditional' barriers and attitudes, this WorldSkills team has shown how diverse and exciting trade careers are irrespective of gender. For example, Joel Drew took the Silver medal in Jewellery while Suwanna Rattananikom took the Bronze in Cooking. In either instance, the tables could have been turned with males in stereotypically 'female' roles such as jewellery, and females stereotypically in 'male' roles such as painting.
Special congratulations to the Skillaroos who achieved great success in winning medals at the competition:
| Category | Name
| Medal
|
| Automobile Technology | Dale McMullen | Gold |
| Jewellery | Joel Drew | Silver |
| Car Painting | Stuart Aisbett | Silver |
| Electrical Installations | John Rudge | Silver |
| Cooking | Suwanna Rattananikom | Bronze |
| Autobody Repair | Luke Gallagher | Medal of Excellence |
| Beauty Therapy | Holly Browne | Medal of Excellence |
| Bricklaying | Tim Hambly | Medal of Excellence |
| Cabinet Making | Anthony Cassar | Medal of Excellence |
| Floristry | Courtney Barton | Medal of Excellence |
| Graphic Design | Kim Harrison | Medal of Excellence |
| IT Software Applications | Michael Kirkwood-Smith | Medal of Excellence |
| Landscape Gardening | Rohan Blythe, Simon Buchanan | Medal of Excellence |
| Manufacturing Team Challenge | Joshua Morsillo, Samuel Pop, Matthew Nunn | Medal of Excellence |
| Painting And Decorating | Shareena Sloan | Medal of Excellence |
| Plumbing | Daniel Hogarth | Medal of Excellence |
| Refrigeration | Lachlan Thomas | Medal of Excellence |
| Restaurant Service | Sarah Rowsell | Medal of Excellence |
| Wall and Floor Tiling | John Alebakis | Medal of Excellence |
| Web Design | Matthew Ryan | Medal of Excellence |
| Welding | Mark Williams | Medal of Excellen |
Also this week - SkillsOne are rua reminder to everyone to remember to get your entries in for the current Ultimate Apprenticeship promotion. Enter here
Anyone who is studying a trade skill or who have their qualifications in Automotive, Horticulture or Chef Trades are eligible to enter for a once in a lifetime trade skills experience. The prizes we have secured thanks to our partners at WPC group and A1GP are incredible:
• For automotive the prize is to work with the Australian A1GP team in Brands Hatch England
• For Horticulture the prize is to spend a week at the world renowned Singapore Garden festival; and
• For hospitality the prize is to work alongside some of Japans Chefs.
The three prizes are all inclusive, including air fares and accommodation and are valued up to $13,000.
Special thanks to our partners WPC and A1GP.
Brian Wexham
Chief Executive Officer, The Institute for Trade Skills Excellence
