Skillaroos are 5th in the world

Australia is now ranked 5th in the world in skills and trades, with one gold, three silver and one bronze medal awarded to the Skillaroos last night at the 39th International WorldSkills Competition in Japan.

Western Australian youth Dale McMullen achieved gold in Automobile Technology.

Silver medallists include John Rudge (NSW) for Electrical Installations, Jewellery competitor Joel Drew (VIC), and Stuart Aisbett for Car Painting (VIC).

Suwanna Rattananikom (NSW) achieved bronze in Cooking.

Dale McMullen also achieved "Best of Nation", with the highest point score and as best performing Australian team member.

Medallions of Excellence were also awarded to many of the Skillaroos, with 21 of 24 category entrants or teams recognised for their outstanding achievement with the accolade (see complete listing below).

Australia jumped four rankings, up from equal 9th place in 2005.

Korea was ranked first, with Brazil, Singapore, and Switzerland taking second to fourth place consecutively, spanning less than one point.

WorldSkills Australia CEO Mark Callaghan said, "This is the best result for an Australian team in WorldSkills since the International Competition in 1988 in Sydney."

"This superb achievement shows the incredible wealth of knowledge we have in these industries in Australia, and the importance of sustained and continued investment in our skills and trades.

"These are our finest young ambassadors for careers in skills and trades. Each and every competitor deserves our praise and congratulations."

The competition attracted around 200,000 visitors to the purpose-built complex in Shizuoka, Japan, with the Crown Prince of Japan, Naruhito attending and watching our gold Skillaroo Dale McMullen during the course of the competition.

The Skillaroos took part in 4 days of intense competition from 15 to 18 November.