Australia’s Top Experts Selected to Support Skills Squad in Contention for Abu Dhabi
A team of 23 experts have been selected to train the 2017 Skills Squad in preparation for WorldSkills Abu Dhabi 2017.
The 24 young men and women were selected to join the Skills Squad after their successful performances at the 2016 WorldSkills Australia National Competition. The team of experts will work closely with the competitors to ensure they develop their skills and with close to 400 years of combined experience with WorldSkills Australia the expert team will bring unparalleled knowledge and experience to the Skills Squad.
“We have an amazing group of experts this year” says WorldSkills Australia General Manager Brigitte Collins. “Their dedication coupled with their industry and education experience provides
invaluable mentoring and support to the Skills Squad team members. The experts are passionate about showcasing and benchmarking Australian standards against the rest of the world.”
The first stop on the journey to Abu Dhabi is a training camp to be held from 10-13 November in Victoria, where they will meet competitors and develop training plans for the coming months.
Ms Collins added “we have an experienced management team that will work closely with the Experts and the Skills Squad to ensure their training plans gives each competitor the best opportunity of becoming a 2017 Skillaroo and to help WorldSkills Australia achieve its goal of Australia finishing in the Top 10 against the 75 countries that will compete for the title of world champion in Abu Dhabi in 2017.”
2017 EXPERT TEAM:
SKILL | NAME | REGION |
3D Digital Game Art | David Bartolo | Sydney, NSW |
Bakery | Ashley Schmidt | Adelaide, SA |
Beauty Therapy | Naomi Zadow | Riverina Murray, NSW |
Bricklaying | Troy Everett | Illawarra, NSW |
Cabinetmaking | Jason Hindes | Adelaide, SA |
Car Painting | Brad Franklin | Sydney, NSW |
Carpentry | Allen Hill | Sydney West, NSW |
Construction Metal Work | Craig McVittie | Riverina Murray, NSW |
Cooking | Ianthe Smith | Sydney, NSW |
Fashion Technology | Donna Kirby-Drain | llawarra, NSW |
Graphic Design Technology | Brendan Hibbert | Perth North, WA |
Hairdressing | Donna DeMaria | Mid Coast, NSW |
Heavy Vehicle Maintenance | Raman Badekar | Sydney West, NSW |
Industrial Mechanics Millwright | Peter Buttenshaw | Illawarra, NSW |
IT Software Solutions for Business | Michael Kirkwood-Smith | Sydney, NSW |
Jewellery | Darren May | Sydney, NSW |
Joinery | Dion Iori | Sydney West, NSW |
Landscape Gardening | Michael Blasch | ACT |
Pâtisserie & Confectionery | Herve Boutin | Illawarra, NSW |
Refrigeration & Air Conditioning | Carl Balke | Brisbane, QLD |
Restaurant Service | James Sun | Sydney, NSW |
Wall & Floor Tiling | Peter Steinweiss | Sydney West, NSW |
Welding | Paul Condran | Illawarra, NSW |
2017 TEAM MANAGEMENT – EXPERT AND COMPETITOR TEAM LEADERS:
NAME | ROLE |
Brigitte Collins | Technical Delegate |
Grant Stewart | Technical Delegate Assistant |
John Shiel | Expert Mentor |
Rachel Sullivan | Competitor Team Leader |
Dave O’Donnell | Competitor Team Leader |