Skillaroos announced!

The Skillaroos are a team of Australia's young trades and skilled people selected from the country's best.

Each member of the Skillaroos has had to prove their worth by receiving a medal-winning place at the WorldSkills Regional and National Competitions.

Over 500 young, talented tradies from around Australia demonstrated their skills from July 11-13 this year at Sydney's Darling Harbour Convention Centre for the WorldSkills 2008 National Competition. Winners from each category were announced at a presentation ceremony at The State Theatre, Sydney on 14th July.

It was the winners from 26 different trade and skill categories - from Carpentry, Horticulture, and Beauty Therapy, to Hairdressing, Butchery and Plumbing - who were last week selected to make up the Skillaroos: Australia's representative team of its best apprentices and trainees.

The WorldSkills: Team Australia, was officially announced on the 6th November at Doltone House in Sydney.

The 29 Skillaroos competitors will travel to Calgary next September, 2009, for the 40th International WorldSkills Competition to prove themselves in the global battle of the best trades men and women.

The International Competition will be a showcase of the global standards displayed by 50 countries, and is expected to draw crowds of over 250,000 people. Team Australia competitors will not only face the pressures of excelling in their categories, but also defending Australia's current 5th place global ranking - a great legacy from the preceding Australian Team at the 2007 WorldSkills International Comp held in Shizuoka, Japan.

The Australian team will train for the next 10 months, refining their skills - just like Olympic athletes do - in preparation to compete amongst the best competitors from the world.

Here's who is on the team:

Aaron Samphier - (Autobody Repair)Andrew Arthur - (Manufacturing Team Challenge (MTC)) Benjamin Dean - (Electrical Control) Christopher Dimitriou - (Landscape Construction) Daniel Jones - (Web Design) Daniel Karanges - (Sheetmetal Work) Gavin Press - (Electrical Installation) Heh-Nian (James) Sun - (Restaurant Service) Jessie Gladwell - (Beauty Care) Joshua Fimognari - (Jewellery) Joshua Harris - (Welding) Justin Laidlaw - (Vehicle Painting) Kyle Butler - (Manufacturing Team Challenge (MTC)) Kyle French - (Painting & Decorating) Luke Davies - (Manufacturing Team Challenge (MTC)) Megan Kuhn - (Hairdressing) Melissa Guiney - (Printing & Graphic Arts) Michael Buist - (Landscape Construction) Michael Welshman - (Cabinetmaking) Mitchell Edwards - (Detailed Joinery & Shopfitting) Nash Mason - (Refrigeration) Nick Davies - (IT Software Applications) Nenad Djuric - (Cookery) Nigel Croke - (Bricklaying) Perrin Bouna - (Automotive Mechanics) Peter Steinweiss - (Wall & Floor Tiling) Shane Ashton - (Construction Steel Work) Stacey Pitman - (Floristry) Tyson Knight - (Plumbing)  

"Each of the 29 Skillaroos named today are now one step closer to realising their dream of representing their country on the world stage," Mark Callaghan, CEO of WorldSkills Australia, said at the launch.

"We look forward to watching their progress as they continue to display the dedication, drive and passion that has allowed them to reach this point.

They are all perfect ambassadors who can be held up as genuine role models for all Australians, and I know everyone will be supporting them in their quest to win gold for their country."

Immediately following this launch, the team went straight into their first training camp from Thursday 6 to Saturday 8 November, at Wombaroo Adventure Centre in Wombeyan NSW.