WorldSkills Sustainability
In an effort to address challenges around environmental sustainability WorldSkills Australia (WSA) & Dusseldorp Skills Forum (DSF) worked together to make the WorldSkills Australia National Competition 2008 as environmentally friendly as possible.
WorldSkills Australia and the Dusseldorp Skills Forum have a lifetime association through DSF's Chairman, Jack Dusseldorp, who is President of WorldSkills International and the founder of WorldSkills Australia. In partnership with WorldSkills Australia, DSF has pioneered innovative skill competitions in the manufacturing, automotive and IT sectors and developed the Continuous Learning and Improvement Program (CLIP) which is a program designed to help competitors making the transition from regional competitions to the national competition as well as a guide for their personal and professional development. Both organisations have enjoyed a long and successful working history and are pleased to be partnering again in 2008 around this important global issue.
Green Skills and Knowledge
The first step has been to contact all the Project Designers to see where they can introduce real & relevant sustainable initiatives. And they have embraced the ‘sustainable challenge'! From procurement of materials, the design of the project, to the testing of skills each project designer has explored opportunities to do more - it's about no wasted talent at these Nationals! Along the way we have captured many stories about the sustainable actions already undertaken within trade categories and new steps to be introduced and we will be sharing them with you.
Eco Skills Teams
The WorldSkills Australia National Competition 2008 was held at Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre at Darling Harbour. The Convention Centre is only the 2nd conference venue in the world to receive internationally benchmarked Green Globe accreditation.
For the first time ever in the WorldSkills movement, nationally and internationally, the ecological footprint of a WorldSkills competition was measured to provide a benchmark for future WSA Australia competitions. Young TAFE students were trained as part of an Eco Skills Team that gathered data to benchmark the Nationals.
From this activity an Environmental Management Plan (EMP) will provide WorldSkills the blueprint for continuous improvement around total event sustainability in the years to come.
With the continued focus on environmentally sustainable practice WorldSkills will lead the way in encouraging young trades people to adopt smarter, more informed and sustainable ways of working.
For further information please contact:
Lincoln Costello
Operations Manager
2008 National Competition
0419 407 446
lcostello@worldskills.org.au
Judy Turnbull
Project Manager
Dusseldorp Skills Forum
02 9571 8347
judy@dsf.org.au
www.dsf.org.au