Melbourne to host the nation’s largest trades and skills challenge

Australia’s finest young apprentices, trainees and students are gearing up for the ultimate trades and skills challenge: The 2016 WorldSkills Australia National Competition, Melbourne.

Supported by the Victorian Government, the National Competition will be held from Thursday, 6 to Saturday, 8 October at Melbourne Showgrounds. Close to 500 competitors from all corners of Australia will compete in over 50 skill categories including Vehicle Painting, Bricklaying, Hairdressing, Programming, Cookery and Welding.

Their journey began at the WorldSkills Australia Regional Competitions held in 31 regions across the country. Their skills were put to the test with a range of challenging projects such as building a deck and laying floor tiles and speed tests such as copper pipe crimping and wallpapering. As the Regional Competitions draw to a close, stand-out competitors will be selected to progress onto the National Competition, where pressure will be on as they undertake three days of intensive competition against the nation’s best in the hopes of being named a ‘National Champion’ in their respective skill category.

The competitors that progress to the National Competition will spend the coming months dedicating every spare moment to honing their skills with the support of their trainers and employers.

FIRST NATIONAL CHAMPIONS OF 2016

WorldSkills Australia will find its first National Champions from Tuesday, 17 to Thursday, 19 May at the Air Conditioning Refrigeration and Building Services (ARBS) exhibition, which will host the 2016 WorldSkills Australia National Refrigeration Competition at the Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre. Marking the 7^th year that the National Refrigeration Competition has been hosted at ARBS, the challenge has yielded some amazing young talent over the years including 1999 Skillaroo and Gold Medallist, Chris MacDonald and 2015 Skillaroo and Medallion of Excellence winner, Beau Kupris.

More information can be found on the WorldSkills Australia website: www.worldskills.org.au.

ENDS

All queries including competition statistics, interview opportunities and imagery can be directed to WorldSkills Australia Communications & PR Coordinator, Devon LaSalle on 03 9249 1000 or dlasalle@worldskills.org.au.