Wellingtonian in build up to WorldSkills Championships

Wellingtonian in ‘Tool Blacks’ build up to WorldSkills Championships in Leipzig

The cream of New Zealand’s young trade trainees are about to pit their skills against the best of their peers from around the globe at the WorldSkills International competition. The competition will be held in Leipzig in July 2013.

WorldSkills is like the Olympics for young people involved in trade and technical industries such as hairdressing, engineering, automotive, building and construction and cooking.

A team of 13 Kiwis from around New Zealand, selected after national championships last year, will compete against more than 1000 other highly skilled young people from more than 60 countries.

The Kiwi team, the ‘Tool Blacks’ are all aged under 23 and have proven they excel at their particular skill.

WorldSkills New Zealand Chief Executive Peter Spencer, says team members are exceptional when it comes to focus and dedication.

“Each member is proud to have been chosen to represent New Zealand and they have all been putting in long hours of training in preparation for the international competition.”

Mr Spencer says the focus for WorldSkills New Zealand this year is on performance rather than just participation.

“Our team is smaller than in past years but of a very high calibre and we aim to show that New Zealand training is right up there with the best in the world.”

More than 150,000 visitors are expected to attend the WorldSkills Leipzig Championship which will be the largest international skills competition in the world.

“WorldSkills Leipzig 2013 will amaze people by showing them the endless possibilities their futures could hold and will inspire them to gain expertise at the highest level, which is what this country needs,” says Mr Spencer.

The Tool Blacks will leave for Leipzig, Germany on 28 June.

Tool Blacks 2013 team

Region

City/Town

Name

Category

Northland

Whangarei

Rodney Nelson

Automotive Technology

NZDF

Whenuapai

Michael West

Aircraft Maintenance

Auckland

Auckland

William Mordido

Cooking

Auckland

Auckland

Joshua Fistonich

Car Painting

Auckland

Auckland

Jonathan McFall

Industrial Control

Waikato

Hamilton

Reece Gerrits

Sheet Metal Technology

Central Nth Island

Palmerston Nth

Cait Woodcock

Hairdressing

Wellington

Wellington

Mitchell Bone

Plumbing & Heating

Wellington

Hutt City

Jaric Savill

Welding

Canterbury

Timaru

Logan Hanifin

Electrical Installations

Canterbury

Ashburton

Nicole Hazlehurst

Floristry

Canterbury

Christchurch

Jake Ackers

Autobody Repair

Otago/Southland

Dunedin

James Buchanan

Joinery

WorldSkills – some background

· WorldSkills New Zealand is part of a worldwide group (more than 60 countries) which organise trade competitions within their own countries and form teams to compete at the biennial international competition.

· WorldSkills NZ’s mission is to challenge New Zealand to achieve world class standards by demonstrating excellence through workplace skills competitions for young people.

· WorldSkills NZ currently caters for more than 20 skills categories covering everything from automotive and building trades to floristry and catering.

· The WorldSkills National Finals were held at Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology from 4-7 July 2012.

· WorldSkills Leipzig 2013 will be held at the Leipziger Messe Trade Fair Centre, Leipzig from 2-7 July 2013.

· There will be 46 official competition categories at WorldSkills Leipzig 2013, covering everything from bricklaying to hairdressing.

· The WorldSkills NZ website will have regular updates on the WorldSkills Leipzig competition with photos and videos including a portal to the WorldSkills International Media Website - www.worldskills.org.nz.
ends

© Scoop Media