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Mark Callaghan's Welcome
Dear WorldSkills Australia Supporter,
National Skills Week was held recently from 26 August to 1 September and, in its third year, National Skills Week continues to highlight the opportunities available via a Vocational Education and Training (VET) pathway.
Congratulations to all the staff at SkillsOne for coordinating a tremendous week of activities all aimed at placing the spotlight firmly on VET. As an enthusiastic supporter of National Skills Week, it was great to see many events include WSA activities such as WSA Regional competitions being held as part of Open Days at TAFE campuses or, indeed as stand-alone events.
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| September, 2013 |
In this issue...
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BBM recipient returns home from UK work experience
James Ripa has recently returned home from a six week stint across the UK where he participated in the BBM Skilled Futures Program and extensive work placements.
James was chosen to participate in the 2013 BBM Skilled Futures Program following his impressive medal winning performance in the Heavy Vehicle Mechanics category at the 2012 WorldSkills Australia National Competition, Sydney.
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QOF - Your passport to the world
The Queensland Overseas Foundation (QOF) is a voluntary, non-profit organisation that has provided annual scholarships to high-achieving young Queenslanders for over 35 years with the goal of bringing the best global practices back to Queensland industries.
Each year the QOF provides young people in the vocational education and training sector with the opportunity to develop their careers overseas.
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Congratulations Kerrie Stevens
At the WorldSkills International General Assembly held in conjunction with the 42nd WorldSkills International Competition in Leipzig, Germany, WorldSkills Australia CEO, Mark Callaghan had the great pleasure in accepting a WorldSkills International Honorary Membership on behalf of Kerrie Stevens. Kerrie received her Honorary Membership for the many years of service she has given to WorldSkills both here in Australia and at the International level.
Congratulations Kerrie and well deserved!
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WSA Staff Update
The last month has seen several changes to the WSA National Office staff.
John Hardy (Finance Manager) has retired after nearly 10 years working with WSA. In this time, John has worked tirelessly across all levels of WSA, particularly with the WSA regions and he has always managed to carry out his sometimes difficult duties in a thoroughly professional manner.
Ana Raica (Online and Social Media Coordinator) has resigned for personal reasons. After starting with WSA as an intern, Ana has been a valued member of the WSA National office staff for several years and has helped the organisation embrace social media and, in some ways, pioneer the use of social media in the WorldSkills community.
Finally, Josie D’Arino has also resigned for personal reasons. Josie commenced with WSA in 2005. Josie made a significant contribution in her time with WSA, particularly in the area of the promotion of WSA, culminating in us receiving in excess of $12 million media coverage for the 2012 WSA National Competition. We all wish John, Ana and Josie well for the future.
In addition to the goings, we would also like to welcome Conny Wilson who has taken on the role of General Manager for WSA. Conny brings a wealth of experience to the organisation and we look forward to introducing her to the WorldSkills family over the coming months.
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2013 Skillaroo Mathew McGlashan shares his story
By Mathew McGlashan
MTC Competitor at the 2013 WorldSkills International Competition, Leipzig
Just thought I would send a bit of an update with regards to the past couple of months and all that has been happening including competing at WorldSkills and my European holiday. I would have to say that the last couple of months have opened my eyes to a lot of things and I have had the time of my life.
The WorldSkills competition was very exciting and something I will never forget, I absolutely loved the challenge, and although we did not get the desired gold medal we were after at completion, this was a massive learning curve and I’m sure my team mates will also agree with me about the feeling of accomplishment that we gave a hundred percent and never gave up. My team mates and I were all very proud to represent Australia.
Continue reading Mathew's story...
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AuSkills Perth - Skills for Success
Registrations now open!
AuSkills is coming to Perth on October 10. The event will be held at Central Institute of Technology, East Perth Campus from 7am.
Hear and Learn from apprentices, trainers and employers who are each involved in the apprenticeship space. The event will also explore the current challenges in attracting and retaining apprentices.
Peter Keep, a Jewellery Trade Lecturer at Central TAFE will be the keynote speaker at the event. Attendees will also hear from a panel session featuring Erin Lamb – Floristry Competitor and 2012 WorldSkills Australia National Medallists and Tayron Sacgnetti – Jewellery Competitor and 2013 WorldSkills International Silver Medallist.
Register your attendance.
AuSkills is a joint initiative between WorldSkills Australia and VETnetwork Australia and has been funded by the Australian Government Department of Industry, Innovation,Science, Research and Tertiary Education.
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What's On
Regional Events are still being held all across the country. Make sure to check out the WorldSkills Australia website to see what’s coming up in your region.
TRY’A SKILL / TRY’A TRADE
11th September - Construction Skills Queensland Try’aTrade Roadshow - FOGS Expo Toowoomba
18th - 19th September - Try’aSkill - Alice Springs (Northern Territory Region)
REGIONAL COMPETITIONS
12th September - Beauty Care Competition (North Queensland Region)
13th September - Wall & Floor Tiling Competition (Perth North & South Region)
14th September - Bricklaying Competition (Perth North & South Region)
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WA runs hairdressing competition in new region
Earlier this year, ‘Ahead of Time’ Salon Manager Anne Marie Ryan, worked with Stacey Warrener from Goldfields Institute and the Retail and Personal Services (RAPS) Industry Training Council to give Goldfields hairdressing apprentices the chance to go for gold in a WorldSkills Australia Regional Hairdressing competition.
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Minister Peter Hall attends WSA Regional Refrigeration Competition in Melbourne
The Minister for Higher Education and Skills, Peter Hall attended the 2013 WorldSkills Australia (WSA) Regional Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Competition, held in Melbourne on August 28th at RMIT’s City Campus.
Minister Hall welcomed the opportunity to witness the friendly competition, which showcased the talents of third year apprentices from RMIT and Box Hill TAFE, “I believe very strongly in supporting vocational training and leveraging the opportunities building these skills have for a variety of trade based careers,” Mr Hall said.
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Volunteer of the Month
Congratulations Andrew Hosking!
Andrew Hoskings, known as ‘Tiger’ to some, has been involved with WorldSkills Australia (WSA) for many years. Over the past few years Andrew has taken on the role of judge in the bricklaying category at WSA National Competitions. In addition to fulfilling his role as a judge, Andrew is constantly doing everything he can in order to ensure the category runs as smoothly as possible, so when it comes to mixing the mortar for all of the competitors, Andrew is the first to put his hand up.
More recently, Andrew also attended the 42nd WorldSkills International Competition in Leipzig which saw him helping out each of the bricklaying competitors and judges wherever he could. During every lunch break and at the end of each competition day, Andrew cleaned each of the 24 saws.
On top of this Andrew also travels around the South East QLD area at his own expense to help out with Try’aSkill events and to judge regional competitions. Manager of WorldSkills Queensland, Tony Wright explains, “It is not uncommon for Andrew to leave his home in Gympie at 3:30am and return after 10:00pm, just so that he can be there to assist us with our regional competitions.”
WorldSkills Australia would like to sincerely thank and acknowledge Andrew for his passion and enthusiasm for the organisation and for his continued support.
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Sponsor Highlight
Visual Impact Suppliers Association (VISA) is a non-profit organisation working in partnership with the Australian sign industry and regional industry associations to provide a cost-effective and professional marketing service for industry and related suppliers and consumers. VISA is also a proud supporter of WorldSkills Australia’s Signage category.
Visual Impact Exhibitions, combined with Image Expo, hosts bi-annual exhibitions to showcase the latest and greatest in the Visual Graphics Industries, which include signage, digital printing, engraving, routing, awards, vinyl application, design, airbrush, screen printing and display solutions. Visual Impact Exhibitions, are held once per year. This year the exhibition will be held 12-14 September at The Showgrounds, Sydney Olympic Park, Homebush.
VISA is sponsoring 10 WorldSkills Australia regional competitors in the Signage category, to attend the exhibition to take part in a training exercise in preparation for the 2014 National Competition.
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We want to hear from you!
This newsletter is about the WorldSkills community, so we would like to hear from you. If you would like to spread your news across Australia contact: Jessamine Laplagne (jlaplagne@worldskills.org.au) at the National Office.
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