Talented young tradespeople take WorldSkills challenge

Talented young tradespeople take WorldSkills challenge

Young tradespeople will vie for the chance to be recognised as New Zealand’s best when the WorldSkills National Final comes to CPIT this week. At stake are places on the New Zealand team competing in Leizpeg, Germany, next year and the satisfaction of measuring up against international standards.

Two days of competition at CPIT’s Trades Innovation Institute and Madras St campuses on Thursday 5 and Friday 6 July will see the sparks fly, pans sizzle, motors rev and the secateurs flash, culminating in an awards ceremony on Saturday 7 July.

Jesse Dhue is among the CPIT contestants preparing for the event. As a carpenter, Jesse’s challenge of building a wall framing with a hole for a window and a pitched roof will see him using all of the skills he has learnt through his training at CPIT and as an apprentice with Van Wiggen Builders.

“I always wanted to be a carpenter,” Jesse said. Now, two and half years into his apprenticeship, he is happy he made the right choice. “I am really enjoying it, being in the open and having work inside when it’s raining too.”

Jesse said it wasn’t always easy to sit in a classroom after a full day at work, but he has his goals set on having his own business one day.

There has never been a better time for the trades in Christchurch according to CPIT Chief Executive Kay Giles. “This is the second time we have hosted the national Worldskills at CPIT and quite a lot has changed since the previous September 2010 event. We have adapted to the post-earthquake situation in Canterbury, and our connections with industry have become more essential than ever,” she said.

“In Christchurch the talk is of how the city can meet the needs of the rebuild and for that we need excellent, skilled workers from not just Christchurch but from around New Zealand, training programmes that respond to the needs and industry partners to tell us who what they need now and in the future.”

WorldSkills is a great chance to check out the country’s best young carpenters, joiners, automotive engineers, florists, hairdressers, chefs and more, in action from 9am to 4pm, Trades Innovation Institute on Ensors Rd or City Campus on Madras St.

WorldSkills New Zealand is an independent, non-profit Charitable Trust, dedicated to encouraging young people to excel in vocational skills.

ENDS

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