News article

TAFE NSW students triumph at
national WorldSkills competition

18 July 2008

TAFE NSW students were awarded 64 medals topping the medal count and collected two-thirds of the gold medals on offer at the 2008 WorldSkills Australia National Competition.

Our students won 29 gold medals and proved themselves the best in the nation after winning half of all medals at this prestigious competition.

Competitors at work

Over 170 TAFE NSW students competed representing every category of the 41 trades and vocational areas.

TAFE NSW students' wins confirm that TAFE NSW is providing the highest standard of vocational education and training in the nation.

TAFE NSW – Northern Sydney Institute student Luke Davies was awarded best competitor overall and received the CareerOne Award for the Best Performing Competitor. Luke had the highest score across the 2008 WorldSkills Australia National Competition.

"I thought completing my Certificate III with straight distinctions was pretty good stuff but winning this award was awesome," said Luke.

Troy Savage a student from TAFE NSW – Western Sydney Institute received gold for Computer Animated Drawing Mechanical. Troy says receiving gold was fantastic.

"I always liked designing and making things and once I had a taste of technical drawing in Year 7, I was determined from a young age to make a success of it," Troy said.

Mitchell Edwards from TAFE NSW – Hunter Institute won gold in the joinery. Mitchell said that was a difficult competition but well worth the hard work.

"Winning was fantastic. I heard them announce the bronze and silver medals and when they announced the region and I knew I'd won I just started screaming. I didn't even he them say my name – it was a really great experience," said Mitchell.

Plumber Tyson Knight from TAFE NSW – Riverina Institute said that the competition was real eye-opener.

"It was a very tough competition and I thought I hadn't done as well as I had. I didn't expect to win. It's still only starting to sink in," said Tyson.

The 2008 WorldSkills Australia National Competition was held at the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre, Darling Harbour from 11 to 13 July and drew over 600 young people from all regions of Australia who came together to compete for gold.

Students from all ten TAFE NSW Institutes won gold medals. They won medals in the following categories:

TAFE NSW MEDAL WINNERS
Auto Electrical
Gold	Christopher Crouch New England	A1 Auto Electrics TAFE NSW – New England Institute Tamworth
Bronze	Mitchell Madden Sydney	Crowhurst Auto Electrical TAFE NSW – South Western Sydney Institute Wetherill Park
Autobody Repair
Gold	Aaron Samphier Sydney – West	AAA Malibu Paint & Panel TAFE NSW – South Western Sydney Institute Campbelltown
Beauty Care
Bronze	Paige Morris Sydney	The Glam Lab TAFE NSW – Western Sydney Institute Blue Mountains
Bricklaying
Gold	Nigel Croke Macquarie	W J Searle TAFE NSW – Western Institute Bathurst
Cabinetmaking
Bronze	Evan Turner Illawarra	UTJ Interiors TAFE NSW – South Western Sydney Institute Lidcombe
CAD Mechanical
Gold	Troy Savage Sydney – West	Antec Engineering/Fowlerex Technologies TAFE NSW – Western Sydney Institute Mount Druitt
Bronze	Brett McDonnell Sydney – West	My Gateway – AGP Glass TAFE NSW – Western Sydney Institute Mount Druitt
Carpentry
Bronze	Andrew Quadrio Sydney	JPS Development & Construction Pty Ltd TAFE NSW – New England Institute Narimba
Carpentry Team
Gold	Warwick Sidman Sydney – West	TAFE NSW – South Western Sydney Institute Campbelltown
	Jeff Brown Riverina Murray	J & P Spinelli TAFE NSW- Riverina Institute Albury
Bronze	Ben Palmer New England	TAFE NSW – New England Institute
Computer Assisted Machining
Gold	Kyle Butler Sydney – West	Broens TAFE NSW – Sydney Institute Ultimo
Construction Steelwork
Gold	Shane Ashton Illawarra	K & R Fabrication TAFE NSW – Illawarra Institute Wollongong
Silver	Chris Rowbottom New England	Andrameda Industries TAFE NSW – New England Institute
Cookery
Gold	Nenad Djuric Sydney	HTN TAFE NSW – Northern Sydney Institute Ryde
Bronze	Aron Wodecki Sydney – West	EST Restaurant (MerivaleGroup) TAFE NSW – Western Sydney Institute Baulkham Hills
Electrical Installation
Gold	Gavin Press Macquarie	Central West Group Apprentices AJS Electrical TAFE NSW – Western Institute Dubbo
Garment Production
Gold	Abbie Ditton Sydney – West	TAFE NSW – South Western Sydney Institute Macquarie Fields
Silver	Vi Tran Sydney	Gordon Smith Marketing TAFE NSW – Sydney Institute Ultimo
Bronze	Ashlee Farrell Hunter	Joyce Mayne- Bennetts Green TAFE NSW – Hunter Institute Tighes Hill
Hairdressing
Gold	Megan Kuhn Mid Coast	Vanessa Hair Fashion TAFE NSW – North Coast Institute Port Macquarie
Heavy Vehicle Mechanics
Gold	Nathan Newham Sydney – West	MTU DDA TAFE NSW – South Western Sydney Institute Wetherill Park
Silver	Joshua Huber Hunter	Comfort Delgro Cabcharge Hunter Valley Buses TAFE NSW – Hunter Institute Kurri Kurri
Bronze	Bryan Munro Riverina Murray	Riverina Truck Centre TAFE NSW – Riverina Institute Wagga Wagga
IT Programming
Gold	Richard Rachowski Sydney	TAFE NSW – Northern Sydney Institute Hornsby
IT Software Applications
Gold	Nick Davies Sydney	TAFE NSW – Northern Sydney Institute Hornsby
Silver	Amanda Allen Sydney	TAFE NSW – Northern Sydney Institute Hornsby
Bronze	Dean Simmonds Hunter	Roads & Traffic Authority TAFE NSW – Hunter Institute Newcastle
IT PC Networking Support
Gold	Aaron Talbot Riverina Murray	AT Technology TAFE NSW – Riverina Institute Albury
Jewellery
Gold	Joshua Fimoguari Sydney – West	TAFE NSW – Sydney Institute Design Centre Enmore
Joinery
Gold	Mitchell Edwards Hunter	Ivan Johnny Mesaric TAFE NSW – Hunter Institute Newcastle
Bronze	Nathan Cohen Sydney	TAFE NSW – Sydney Institute North Sydney
Landscape Construction
Gold	Daniel Kaiser New England	TAFE NSW – New England Institute Tamworth
Silver	Michael Buist Sydney	TAFE NSW – Northern Sydney Institute Ryde
Meat Retailing
Silver	Timothy Gorman Illawarra	Freshwater Gourmet Butchery TAFE NSW – Illawarra Institute Wollongong West
Bronze	Bryce Smith Hunter	Woolworths – Scone TAFE NSW – Hunter Institute Hamilton
Painting & Decorating
Silver	Ahmed Halloum Sydney – West	Perfect Roller TAFE NSW – South Western Sydney Institute Granville
Bronze	Joel Bryant Hunter	Hunter VE -TECH TAFE NSW – Hunter Institute Tighes Hill
Plumbing
Gold	Tyson Knight Riverina Murray	A Murray & Sons TAFE NSW – Riverina Institute, Albury
Bronze	Matt Brenchely Sydney	Above and Below Plumbing TAFE NSW – Northern Sydney Institute North Sydney
Refrigeration
Gold	Nash Mason Hunter	Hastie M&H Air Conditioning TAFE NSW – Hunter Institute Newcastle
Silver	David Restuccia Sydney – West	Techni Temp TAFE NSW – South Western Sydney Institute Granville
Bronze	Leigh Cofffill Sydney – West	Daikin Australia TAFE NSW – South Western Sydney Institute Granville
Restaurant Service
Gold	Heh-Nian (James) Sun Sydney	Arisun TAFE NSW – Northern Sydney Institute
Bronze	Vicky Stasous Sydney – West	Crowne Plaza Parramatta TAFE NSW – Western Sydney Institute Baulkham Hills
Retail Baking – Bread
Gold	Craig McVernon Sydney – West	Brumbies TAFE NSW – Western Sydney Institute Nepean
Silver	Tim Arnold Sydney	Bakers Delight TAFE NSW – Sydney Institute Ultimo
Bronze	Stuart Gregory Illawarra	Bakers Delight TAFE NSW – Illawarra Institute Wollongong
Retail Baking – Pastry
Silver	Kathleen Parker Illawarra	Gumnut Patisserie TAFE NSW – Illawarra Institute Wollongong
Sheetmetal Work
Bronze	Erik Reinhardt Sydney – West	Ferguson Sheetmetal TAFE NSW – Western Sydney Institute Mount Druitt
Signcraft
Gold	Joshua Tunbridge Illawarra	Tunbridge Designs TAFE NSW – Illawarra Institute Wollongong
Silver	Blake Conyers Sydney	The Sign Centre TAFE NSW – Sydney Institute Ultimo
Turning
Gold	Luke Davies Sydney – West	Eddie Dobbin & Sons Engineering TAFE NSW – Northern Sydney Institute Meadowbank
Vehicle Painting
Gold	Justin Laidlaw Hunter	Novercastrian Smash Repairs TAFE NSW – Hunter Institute Glendale
Silver	Matthew Davies Sydney – West	Dan's Place Smash Repairs TAFE NSW – Western Sydney Institute Mount Druitt
Bronze	Jacob Young Illawarra	Elcharrs Accident Repair Centre TAFE NSW – Illawarra Institute Wollongong
Wall & Floor Tiling
Gold	Peter Steinweiss Sydney	Metz TAFE NSW – South Western Sydney Institute Macquarie Fields
Bronze	Ben McGivern Sydney – West	Adorn Tiles TAFE NSW – South Western Sydney Institute Macquarie Fields
Web Design
Gold	Daniel Jones Sydney	TAFE NSW – Northern Sydney Institute Hornsby
Silver	Tahreem Khan Sydney	TAFE NSW – Northern Sydney Institute North Sydney
Bronze	Simon Bennett Macquarie	TAFE NSW – Western Institute Broken Hill
Welding
Gold	Joshua Harris Northern Rivers	McKeeco Pty Ltd TAFE NSW – North Coast Institute Wollongbar
Bronze	Duane Jenkins Macquarie	Central West Group Apprentices Agriweld Engineering TAFE NSW – Western Institute Dubbo
VET in Schools (VETiS) Competition VETiS Electrotechnology
Silver	Bradley Mackey NSW	TAFE NSW – Western Institute Dubbo
Bronze	James Beazley NSW	TAFE NSW – Western Institute Dubbo

See list of all medal winners on the WorldSkills Australia website.

TAFE NSW students who think they've got what it takes and want to get in on the action and compete in WorldSkills competitions can speak to their TAFE teacher.

Whatever you want to do, TAFE NSW has a course to get you there! Now is the perfect time to check out TAFE NSW courses.

TAFE NSW students triumph at national WorldSkills competition

TAFE NSW students triumph at
national WorldSkills competition