WorldSkills Competition showcases young talent at Wintec Rotokauri campus
The WorldSkills New Zealand National Competition sees competitors gather to compete in their individual skill categories, and the ultimate prize – a place in the New Zealand Skills Team, which will compete in Kazan, Russia 2019.
Wintec is proud to host the nationals again at its Rotokauri campus, where top trades apprentices and trainees will duel it out in categories ranging from Automotive Technology, to Plumbing & Heating, to Mobile Robotics.
The 2018 National Competition will be held at the Rotokauri Campus from 8:30am to 5:00pm on Wednesday 10 October, and 8am – 3pm on Thursday 11 October. Feel free to visit and check out the competitors in action. The medal ceremony will be held at The Atrium on Wintec’s city campus from 5pm, 11 October.
Places on the New Zealand Skills team are highly sought after and competitors who make the cut will travel to 45th WorldSkills International Competition in Kazan in August, 2019.
Featuring for the first time in WorldSkills New Zealand competitions will be Mobile Robotics and Cloud Computing.
“We are excited to have these new categories supported by industry partners Vex Robotics and AWS Academy,” says WorldSkills New Zealand chief executive Malcolm Harris.
“From our National Competition we seek the best of the best to represent New Zealand on the global stage. From this point we’re operating in a high-performance environment and these competitors know it.”
Harris describes the National Competition as a big step-up from the regional competitions held earlier this year, and the global competition is another leap again.
“It is like the Olympics of the trades,” he says.
“The global competition attracts thousands of competitors across a multitude of skills categories, and global sponsors – like Samsung for example – recruit from the top talent competing there. So, to be selected to represent New Zealand is a huge honour, and at the same time we’re showcasing New Zealand’s quality industry training system.”
For first time 20-year-old competitor, Lauren Phillips, apprentice plumber from Fairbairn Plumbing in Winton, the global competition would be the opportunity of a lifetime.
“I’m excited to have the opportunity to meet my fellow competitors and develop some new friendships. To make it into the New Zealand Skills Team would be huge. To be able to travel doing what you love would be wicked, and you’re representing New Zealand which would be a huge achievement in itself,” says Lauren.
Former 2015 Tool Black, Oceania and National Competition winner, Adam de Pass, will attend the 2018 National Competition as a skill judge.
Adam wanted to pass on some advice to this year’s national competitors: “Being a Tool Black is a once in a lifetime opportunity and one you cannot buy. Put everything you’ve got into it, be confident in your ability. If you want to win it you’ve got to think positive.”
Like the regional competitions, the National Competition is project based with competitors completing these projects over two high-pressure days.
WorldSkills New Zealand encourages any young tradesperson to consider the competition and to get in line to compete in future WorldSkills competitions next year.
“Through WorldSkills New Zealand your skills career can truly take you to the absolute top of your industry,” says Harris.
WorldSkills New Zealand is an independent, not-profit, charitable trust founded in 1986. Dedicated to encouraging young people to excel in vocational skills. This is achieved through exposure to regional, national and international levels. For more information on other regional competitions visit www.worldskills.org.nz
Find out more about studying Trades at Wintec.
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