Skill Squad Update

When we made the official announcement of the WorldSkills Australia Skill Squad in December, there were a number of skills where we had two competitors/teams still competing to be the sole representative in the Skill Squad.

We are pleased to announce the following result, allowing us to officially finalise the 2022 WorldSkills Australia Skill Squad

Refrigeration & Airconditioning

This skill off was between Ryan Hanns (ACT) and Tom Clancy (WA). The competition was held at TAFE Queensland under the watchful eyes of our expert Carl Balke.  It was a very tight contest with both of the competitors excelling in different areas over the two days and the final results only being separated by a difference of 2.85 marks.

Congratulations to Tom Clancy from WA who was the winner – we look forward to seeing how you continue on in your journey with the skill squad and hopefully progressing through to being a Skillaroo.

Thank you to Ryan Hanns for all of your work that you put through the training camp and unfortunately we are only able to take one competitor forward. Looking forward to you being part of the WorldSkills Australia family.

We would also like to take this opportunity to announce Kirby and Refrigerant Reclaim as our skill sponsor for the Refrigerant & Air Condition skill. It’s wonderful to have the support from the industry to help represent the skill on an international level. We have had a great relationship with both partners over a long period and it’s great to see them support the industry and promoting the next generation.

Cyber Security

This team event took place between two West Australian teams – one team made up of Christopher Fitzsimons and Bujitha Ponsuge and the other of Matt Dockrell and Ben Armstrong. It was decided that the teams would complete the project from the 2021 National Championships to see the different skills they had learnt since the start of the skill squad. There was some real improvement shown by both teams but ultimate it was Christopher Fitzsimons and Bujitha Ponsuge who had been able to learn more during the training period of the skill squad and were the winners.

We want to wish Matt Dockrell and Ben Armstrong all the best with their future endeavours and look forward to them being involved in WorldSkills Australia moving forward.

Cookery

The Cookery skill off was completed between Sabrina Rees (NSW) and Sarah Hunt (QLD) under the watchful eyes of the judging panel of Nenad Djuric, Adam Moore and Expert Ianthe Smith. As the competition progressed, there was no clear leader with both competitors excelling in different areas throughout the competition. In the end it was Sabrina Rees who was the winner and who now becomes the skill squad member for cookery. It will be great to see Sabrina’s journey continue on the road to Shanghai.

It was great to have Sarah Hunt as part of the skill squad and while it wasn’t to be on this occasion, hopefully you have learnt a number of new skills that can help you moving forward and and we look forward to you still being involved with WorldSkills in the future.

Carpentry

The skill off for carpentry was between Brock Perry (QLD) and Matthew Duffy (NSW). The competition was judged by Ryan Grieger and Allen Hill, and it was great to have the international expert as part of the competition. It was a very close competition over the two days with the lead changing a number of times and despite all of the rain and flooding of the venue, the final result was only separated by 3.15 marks in the end. Congratulations to Matthew Duffy who was the winner of the skill off and will now be working towards the opportunity to become a Skillaroo.

Thank you to Brock Perry for being part of the journey and we know the competition you provided has helped in so many ways, we cant wait for your next involvement in WorldSkills Australia.