Mark Callaghan’s Welcome

Dear ,

On the 10th of November 2007, 27 of Australia’s best young trade and skill champions - the Skillaroos - boarded a flight bound for Shizuoka, Japan and their biggest career challenge to date.

Over four days of competition, the 39th WorldSkills Competition saw over 850 skilled young professionals from 48 countries converge on Shizuoka to compete to be the best in the world. Over 200,000 visitors, including the Crown Prince of Japan, attended the competition and watched the world’s best young trade and skill technicians battle for gold.

These young Australians showed unequalled dedication and passion in their quest for gold for their country. As a result of their hard work and commitment, and through calling on the resources of countless volunteers, the enormous goodwill of their employers and the support of training organisations and industry, Team Australia were able to improve on their world ranking, finishing the competition as the 5th ranked nation in the world.

The outstanding results achieved in Japan demonstrate to the rest of the world the high level of vocational education and training currently available within our VET system.

There were many highlights during this long journey, however for me the most enjoyable experience was witnessing the development of the group as a team – from the formal announcement of the team in November 2006 through until the Closing Ceremony where each team member revelled in the fact that Australia was now ranked 5th in the world. They were all proud to wear the Australian uniform and at all times were respectful of the fact that they were representing their country. They had a tremendous team ethic, fostered through the efforts of team leaders, Dave and Rachel, which was the envy of many other nations.

Results like these cannot be achieved in isolation. While the competitors themselves are working at the ‘coalface’ refining their skills, it is the efforts of many others that provide them with this opportunity. As such, I would like to thank everyone who has been involved with the 2007 Skillaroos – the employers, trainers, government and industry sponsors, family, friends and all WorldSkills Australia volunteers. It goes without saying that without your support and continued dedication, WorldSkills Australia would not be able to achieve the success that it has had on the international stage.

Finally, there is one group of people who deserve a special mention and that is the group of experts, led by John Shiel, who are charged with the responsibility of training the competitors, as well as ensuring that the competition runs smoothly. These experts are often the unsung heroes of the Australian team. They juggle full-time jobs and, in many cases, young families to ensure that the competitors are fully prepared. On behalf of WorldSkills Australia I thank them all for their passion and commitment. Several of the experts from Japan have indicated that this well be their last international competition. To them, I offer a special thank you for the many years you have committed to WorldSkills Australia. We look forward to continually tapping into their knowledge and keeping them all involved in some capacity. As the Eagles song states “you can check out…but you can never leave”.

The Skillaroos have placed Australia as the best English-speaking nation and 5th in the world after competing at the WorldSkills International Competition. 27 young Australians achieved fantastic results both as a team and individually, collecting 5 medals and 19 medallions of excellence.

Australia tested and displayed its highest standards of Vocational Education and Training since 1988 and moved up from 9th position to 5th in the world. The medal tally consists of one gold medal, three silvers and one bronze, accompanied by medallions of excellence for 16 trade categories – that is 21 out of 24 categories achieving awards for skills excellence.

However there was much more involved than just four days of competing. The Skillaroos participated in twelve months of training from experts and teachers, 3 days of development camp, training trips interstate and overseas and countless publicity duties - great responsibility for young Australians establishing their careers.

The WorldSkills International community is rapidly expanding with its membership increased to 50 countries, indicative of the need to highlight and nurture vocational skills around the world. In October Iceland became a WorldSkills member and quickly entered a contestant in the International Competition. In 2007 WSI has introduced 3 member countries and we look forward to additional members in the lead up to Calgary, 2009.

Like many regions at this time of year, Wide Bay, Melbourne and Vic Country regions are busy wrapping up their regional competitions. Tonight the three regions will all be running presentations to announce the local medallists and possibly the next national champions.

Melbourne and Vic Country regions presented their awards at a Graduation and Awards Ceremony last night at Arrow on Swanston, Carlton. Awards were presented in 28 categories and in front of an expected 300 guests. The 2007 Skillaroos from these regions, including silver medallists Joel Drew and Stuart Aisbett, were also guests attesting to the success which stems from a regional competition. Please contact Ray Morrison on 0412 050 953 for further details.

Wide Bay Burnett region also hosted a presentation tonight to celebrate the success of six regional Business Services competitors. Each competitor was presented a certificate of participation, and the place getters also received their gold, silver or bronze medals at ECHO’s Training Restaurant at Bundaberg Campus last night. Please contact Corrie McColl on (07) 4150 5803 for further details and a full list of results.

The Riverina-Murray region held their presentation on 7th November at Catholic College Wodonga, where medals were presented to the champions of 12 competition categories and 8 VET in Schools categories.

G-Mac Auto Centre & G-Mac Suspensions has been operating at McCoy St, Myaree, Western Australia for 32 years.

The proprietors and directors, Mr Graeme and Mrs Sheila McMullen established their business from scratch and within a short period begun quite a busy vehicle repair business, carrying out all mechanical repairs to almost all road vehicles of the time. G-Mac specialise in all types of suspension repairs and modifications for both road, rally & racing purposes and also carry out specialised smash repair work suspension of all models. 

The family owned and operated business now employs their daughter Leanne in the office, the world class Gold medal winner Dale McMullen as the head technician, and their younger brother Brett, who recently completed his mechanical apprenticeship; and of course Graeme, who runs the operation and works alongside the staff.

G-Mac has been trying to source more mechanical staff for close to 2 years now; however they have been unsuccessful in finding suitable staff due to the skills shortage and the high standards we have for staff.

“We have been extremely proud of Dale’s achievements in winning 4 gold medals to date: one state gold medal, one national gold medal, the International gold medal and Best of Nation gold medal. His dedication to achieve this has been awe inspiring with the number of hours he spent in the winters and summers in the corner of the workshop, after a full days work, training for the competitions”, says Graeme McMullen.

“We have been honoured to be able to support WorldSkills in its quest and support Dale as well and would like to thank Mr. Grant Petch for his valuable assistance in assisting Dale with his training.”

For sponsorship information and opportunities contact Catherine Huntley, Sponsorship Coordinator, at chuntley@worldskills.org.au.

Thanks to the WSA states and regions who contributed to the December SkillNews. If you want your region or event to be included in the SkillNews contact Marketing and Communications Coordinator, Sarah Larsen, at slarsen@worldskills.org.au.

If changes have been made to upcoming events please notify Heather Knights, Events Coordinator, at hknights@worldskills.org.au

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