Mark Callaghan’s Welcome

Dear WorldSkills Supporter,

I recently had the opportunity to travel to Wollongong and meet up with 2 of our Gold medalists from the 2008 National competition - Shane Ashton (Construction Steelwork) and his dad Greg at K & R Fabrications as well as Josh Tunbridge (Signcraft) and his dad Geoff at Tunbridge deSigns.

It was great to catch up with them both and hear from all of them the value of participating in a WorldSkills Australia competition – both from Shane and Josh’s point of view and also that of Greg and Geoff as employers. One thing that both Greg and Geoff did take me to task on was the lack of exposure that WorldSkills Australia and the WorldSkills Champions enjoy. Both could not understand why WorldSkills Australia was not more widely known.

Many times I have heard WorldSkills described as the world’s best kept secret. As a colleague from New Zealand recently said, we want WorldSkills to be the world’s worst kept secret. Everyone from apprentices, trainees, employers, parents, trainers, teachers, Government Ministers and indeed all Australians should know about WorldSkills Australia and the Skill Champions that come through our programs should enjoy the level of attention that our sporting heroes receive.

This is an issue that has been around since the inception of WorldSkills Australia in 1981. The WSA National office continues to raise the profile through initiatives such as our recent ‘Adopt a Skillaroo’ program, through our ongoing partnership with News Limited CareerOne and by working with SkillsOne to film the 2008 National Competition.

We will continue to promote our programs and hold up our champions such as the 2009 Skillaroos and the soon to be named 2009 BBM Scholarship recipients and by doing so we will continue to raise the profile of skills and trades in Australia and provide role models that all Australians will recognise and can aspire to.

BBM Limited (formerly Big Brother Movement) was established in
1925 to provide a means for and to assist with the settlement of
large numbers of young British men applying to migrate to Australia
at that time.

Presently, BBM provides prestigious awards to assist young Australians travel to the UK to develop their skills and to help preserve Australia's historic links with Britain.

WorldSkills Australia has been the proud recipient of the prestigious BBM awards since 2000. The BBM Scholarship contributes to the costs associated with participating in a unique leadership development program in the UK that has been developed by Mission Performance specifically for WorldSkills Australia.

The aim of the Mission Performance Leadership Challenge is to develop leadership, management and personal skills to become more effective and efficient leaders and communicators. It is conducted throughout prestigious military locations in the UK over a 2 week period. In addition, scholarship recipients are encouraged to participate in a work experience program in the UK where it is hoped that they will further the skills that they have learnt here in Australia.

Throughout February, WorldSkills Australia has been through an exhaustive selection process to identify the 17 BBM Scholarship winners for 2009. The scholarship winners will be announced shortly.

Final information on the 2009 Team Australia Supporters Tour to Calgary for the 40th WorldSkills Competition is being compiled and will soon be available. Information will be sent directly to those who have originally expressed interest and will also be made available on the WSA website. It would be fantastic to see as many Aussie supporters as possible in Calgary cheering on our Skillaroos as they take on the world so if you are interested check out the WSA website in the coming days for details.

If you are interested in being part of the 2009 Team Australia Supporters tour, and haven’t done so already, please register your interest via info@worldskills.org.au, stating your name and contact details.

The Big Skills Conference (BSC) will bring together major national and international players with an interest in skills and training to debate issues and stimulate change in the Australian tertiary sector.

The Big Skills Conference is hosted by the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations on behalf of the Australian Government. WorldSkills Australia is actively participating in the Big Skills Conference by showcasing some of Australia’s best skilled tradespeople. As part of their training, 8 of the 2009 Skillaroos will be working on projects under the watchful eye of their experts. Delegates to the conference have the opportunity to watch the Skillaroos in action, working hard to complete their projects over three days whilst under the scrutiny of the 1,200+ attendees.

WSA will be blogging from the BSC, with photos, video footage and blogs loaded to the WSA website.

The WorldSkills Australia Skillaroos and their Experts training at the
Big Skills Conference are as follows:

• Beauty Therapy: Skillaroo Jessie Gladwell and Expert Sue Collins
• Hairdressing: Skillaroo Megan Kuhn and Expert Donna DeMaria
• Floristry: Skillaroo Stacey Pitman and Expert Allan Randell-Smith
• Printing and Graphic Arts: Skillaroo Melissa Guiney and Expert Sarah Jones
• Landscape Gardening: Skillaroos Michael Buist, Christopher Dimitriou and Expert Ben Meade
• Web Design: Skillaroo Daniel Jones and Expert Jarrad Langdon
• Bricklaying: Skillaroo Nigel Croke and Expert Troy Everett

2007 Floristry Skillaroo and Medallion of Excellence recipient Courtney Barton and 2005 WorldSkills International Gold Medal winner Jarrad Langdon will also be attending the conference assisting in various capacities. Jarrad will be delivering a speech in the session entitled ‘Access and Participation- Young People’s Views and  is on the panel for the Big Skills Quiz - a take on ABC TV show, Spicks and Specks.

Stay tuned to the WorldSkills Australia website for updates.

Where: Newcastle Exhibition Centre, Newcastle Showground, Broadmeadow
When: 20th - 23rd May 2009
Why: Team Australia Skillaroos testing their skills in a simulated International Competition

Watch this space.

Fraser & Hughes

Fraser & Hughes is an Australian family owned business
which has been in operation for over 80 years, offering
customers quality service matched only by their extensive
range of well known brands of clothing, footwear and
professional knives. Fraser and Hughes specialise in items made for and used by chefs, pastry chefs, butchers and waiters and stock a variety of prepared tool sets ready for apprentices, TAFE students and hospitality courses.

This newsletter is about the WorldSkills community, so we want news from the WorldSkills Australia community. If you would like to spread your news across Australia contact: Sarah Tulloch (stulloch@worldskills.org.au) at the National Office.