Tasmania’s young workers have brought home two gold and a silver after competing in the 2016 WorldSkills Australia National Competition in Melbourne on the weekend.
WorldSkills Australia is the nation’s premier platform for showcasing trades and skills through regional and national competitions. This year’s National Competition saw more than 500 competitors aged 16-24 years from across the country competing across 60 skills.
Hamish Chamley from Jensens Quality Metalworks in Burnie took out the top prize in the Sheetmetal Work category and Jai North from Landfall Farm Fresh in Launceston was awarded gold in Retail Butchery.
For the second year running Anton La Palombara from Transform Plastering in Legana took home silver in the Plastering category.
These three impressive performances were played out over three days of intensive competition against the nation’s best in their field after qualifying though the regional level competition.
This is an outstanding result for Team Tasmania, with all 12 of our competitors contributing excellent performances across the three days of competition.
These dedicated Tasmanians stand as an example of what can be achieved when our young people are given a chance and provided opportunities through vocational and further education and training.
Hamish and Jai will now be offered the chance to apply for international scholarships in their trades, with the chance to go to the WorldSkills international competition in Abu Dhabi next year.
Congratulations to Team Tasmania for their outstanding efforts over the three days of competition and their commitment to their trades, you have done our State proud.
Matthew Groom, Minister for State Growth
