Mark Callaghan’s Welcome

Dear WorldSkills Supporter,

As you read this the final preparations for the 2010 WorldSkills Australia National Competition will be well underway. Our hard working site crew will be at the Brisbane Exhibition Centre marking out the floor space in preparation for the delivery of many millions of dollars worth of equipment and materials.

Other volunteers around Brisbane will be loading trucks and coordinating deliveries to ensure that all items are delivered as per schedule. Our dedicated judges will all be arriving throughout the week to oversee the final preparations of each category and making sure the stage is set for a tremendous competition.

Meanwhile, the WorldSkills Australia regions will be making final preparations for the departure of their teams – ensuring that no stoned is left unturned as they strive to provide the perfect ‘worry-free’ lead in to the competition for all competitors. And of course the competitors will be nervously going over in their mind all the information and advice they have received and no doubt reflecting on the tremendous support and hard work that has got them all to this stage. What an exciting time.

Of course, we have already crowned 2 National Champions - Tamika MacKrell (Floristry - Melbourne region) and Liam Janetzki (Refrigeration - Toowoomba region). Congratulations to both Liam and Tamika and we look forward to recognising their achievements, along with all other medallists at the Presentation Ceremony on the evening of Monday the 10th of May.

Before we get to the Presentation Ceremony however, we have 3 days of intense competition to get through. Good luck to all competitors. By competing and succeeding at the Regional level you have already accepted the challenge of Skills Excellence. I look forward to watching you all take the next step in your skills journey and as you do so, help to inspire others.

National Competition 2010 - 4 days to go!

18 competitors (12 in Refrigeration and 6 in Floristry) have already competed in the WorldSkills Australia National Competition. Both were run as satellite competitions, with Refrigeration running from the 11-13 April and Floristry running from 12-14 April.

The 2010 Refrigeration National Competition was held as part of the ARBS Exhibition at Darling Harbour, Sydney while the 2010 Floristry National Competition was held as part of the Royal Easter Show in Sydney. Both competitions provided the perfect stage for these 18 competitors to display their skills in front of an audience of their peers and the general public.

In a role reversal, 2009 Skillaroo Nash Mason switched hats from competitor to judge the Refrigeration Competition and 2007 Skillaroo, Courtney Barton continued her involvement in WorldSkills Australia as one of the judges of the Floristry National Competition. Many thanks to all judges, category conveners, volunteers and regional contacts and all involved in making these events a success.

Gold Medal: Liam Janetzki
Region: Toowoomba
Training Provider: SkillsTech Australia - Acacia Ridge
Employer: Qbuild Toowoomba

Silver Medal: Adam Inglis
Region: Brisbane
Training Provider: SkillsTech Australia - Acacia Ridge
Employer: Network Refrigeration

Bronze Medal: Mathew Duncan
Region: Sydney West
Training Provider: TAFE NSW Western Sydney Institute
Employer: Tritech Refrigeration

View photos from the Competition.
View Competition video.

Refrigeration - left to right
Mathew Duncan (Bronze), Liam Janetzki (Gold), Adam Inglis (Silver)

Gold Medal: Tamika MacKrell
Region: Melbourne
Training Provider: Marjorie Milner College
Employer: Jen's Flowers

Silver Medal: Emma Hunter
Region: Western Australia
Training Provider: Challenger Institute of TAFE
Employer: The Black Tulip Florist

Bronze Medal: Dimitra Markos
Region: Geelong
Training Provider: Gordon Institute of TAFE (City Campus)
Employer: Bloomin Wild

View photos from the Competition.
View Competition video.

Floristry - left to right
Dimitra Markos (Bronze), Tamika MacKrell (Gold), Emma Hunter (Silver)

Follow the WorldSkills Australia National Competition Brisbane 2010 on Facebook and Twitter!

WorldSkills Australia will be providing up to the minute updates including news and photos via Facebook and Twitter. Be in the loop and on top of the news - join today.

2010 Winner
Tyson Knight (2009 Skillaroo, Plumbing)

2010 Runners-up
Andrew Arthur (2009 Skillaroo, Manufacturing Team Challenge)
Peter Steinweiss (2009 Skillaroo, Wall & Floor Tiling)

Congratulations are extended to Tyson Knight who won the 3rd Ern MacDonald Fellowship sponsored by the Dusseldorp Skills Forum, WorldSkills Australia and the MacDonald family. This Fellowship recognises and encourages the development of skills in young people and was established in memory of Ern MacDonald who has been credited with changing the face of labour relations in the Australian construction industry. Through application and interview the Fellowship assists the careers of talented young tradespeople from within the WorldSkills Building and Construction categories.

On a beautiful Sydney Harbour day 5 talented young tradespeople, and their mentors, were brought together to hear from both Kate MacDonald and WSA CEO Mark Callaghan, who was announced as the winner of $10,000 to pursue their skill development and further the two runners-up who would each receive $2,500.

It was an extremely hard decision for the panel of three judges and in the end Tyson’s plan to start and manage his own ‘Green’ plumbing company edged out the other high quality applications.

We wish all the applicants the best for their future careers!

Tjerk Dusseldorp- President WorldSkills International, Tyson Knight,
Andrew Arthur, Peter Steinweiss and WorldSkills Australia CEO Mark Callaghan

WorldSkills Australia and the Dusseldorp Skills Forum will again
partner to deliver Green Team 2010 and liaise with Project Designers
and Category Convenors to introduce real, relevant and financially
viable sustainable initiatives to the WorldSkills Competition process,
while also calculating the “ecological footprint” of the WorldSkills
Australia National Competition Brisbane 2010.
 
In an effort to address challenges around environmental sustainability WorldSkills Australia and Dusseldorp Skills Forum (DSF) are working together to make the WorldSkills Australia National Competition
Brisbane 2010 as environmentally friendly as possible.

WorldSkills Australia, Dusseldorp Skills Forum and RMIT
are partnering to find out about excellence in skills. Over the
course of the WorldSkills Australia National Competition
MOVE will be asking all the competitors and judges to share
their experience via an online questionnaire. This partnership builds on the research project already undertaken through
the University of Tampere, Finland, by Dr. Petri Nokelainen that
explored questions of vocational excellence.

After the competition the MOVE will engage family, employers and mentors in the questionnaire and develop a comprehensive picture of what makes for excellence in skills.

Gavin Press (2009 Skillaroo- Electrical Installations,
Medallion of Excellence)

Group Training Australia’s most outstanding apprentices and trainees
were recognised at the Group Training National Awards Presentation
Dinner in Adelaide on 16 April. The awards were presented by South Australian Minister for Employment, Training and Further Education,
Jack Snelling, Federal Shadow Minister for Employment Participation, Apprenticeships and Training, Senator Mathias Cormann and
Ms Isabel Maurer from the Department of Further Education,
Employment, Science and Technology, South Australia.

The evening followed Group Training Australia’s National Conference ‘Skill2Work’ which heard from both Federal Government and Opposition representatives, and a host of skills and training experts. The two-day
Conference brought together group training organisations that are part
of the largest employer network of apprentices and trainees in Australia. 
 
WorldSkills Australia would like to congratulate Gavin Press on receiving the Group Training Apprentice of the Year award. Congratulations Gavin! Gavin was part of the 2009 Team Australia Skillaroos, competing in Calgary, Canada in the category of Electrical Installations. Gavin returned home with the impressive accolade of Medallion of Excellence. Congratulations on your achievements Gavin!

“Undertaking and apprenticeship has allowed me to start a continuous learning process with a broader skill base than first anticipated. On-the-job training has shown the day-to-day realism of the industry and given the practical skills needed to be successful, including maintaining good working relationships.” Gavin Press

Congratulations to Noel Munkman on receiving the ARBS Outstanding
Industry Education/Training Award. This award recognises an outstanding
contribution to training or education within the HVAC & Refrigeration industry
over a number of years.

The award was presented at the ARBS Industry Awards on April 13, 2010.

Noel has a long affiliation with WorldSkills Australia, most recently Noel was
Team Australia Expert Team Leader at the WorldSkills International
Competition in Calgary, Canada. Congratulations Noel.

The National Careers & Employment Expo is Australia’s largest and most popular career event.
This year the National Careers & Employment Expo in Brisbane is being held in conjunction with the WorldSkills Australia National Competition. This combined event is expected to attract in excess of 70,000 people over three days 7-9 May at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre.

Read more about the National Careers & Employment Expo.

Construction Skills Queensland (CSQ) creates and funds initiatives
to assist career seekers looking to join the building and construction
industry as well as those already employed within the industry. 

CSQ is an independent industry organisation working for the future of Queensland’s construction industry. 

CSQ’s Be Constructive careers initiative is specifically designed to help
career seekers and school students find the right career in construction.

The construction industry has many different and exciting careers on offer, from jobs working outdoors on the tools to supervisor positions on major commercial projects. Whatever you are looking for in a career, there will be a job in Queensland’s construction industry for you.

Read more about Construction Skills Queensland.

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.