It might be raining gold medals for Australia at the Commonwealth Games, but Ballarat apprentices and trainees have a different gold medal in their sights.
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Local students, apprentices and trainees will showcase their skills and compete for gold in welding, hairdressing, bricklaying, automotive, fitting and turning, and cabinet making when Federation TAFE hosts the WorldSkills Regional Competition throughout August and September.
Winners could progress to eventually represent Australia in the WorldSkills International Competition in Lyon 2024.
Jonah Moloney-Wise, 18, who is studying a Certificate III in Light Fabrication, will compete in the welding competition on August 22.
He started his studies in February 2020 when he got his first job as a sheet metal worker.
"WorldSkills is a competition to demonstrate the skills and abilities of apprentices going through TAFE, to give them the opportunity to compete at a high level and perhaps go international," Jonah said.
He is working full time in food grade fabrication, often 60 hours a week, and attending TAFE from 6pm to 10pm on a Thursday, and hopes that, combined with a bit of extra practice, will be enough to be competitive in the regional rounds.
"I am preparing by doing lots of hours of training and practising to assist in the competition," he said.
"It takes lots of dedication and excitement for the competition, but it's a great opportunity to further yourself."
"The course gives me a real-world practical skill that will give me much higher job security and a far more diverse and interesting line of work."
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Jonah is currently completing studies for a 3D welding ticket which features many of the same welds that should feature in the WorldSkills competition.
Federation University Pro Vice-Chancellor (Vocational Education and Training) and Federation TAFE chief executive Liam Sloan said local students, trainees, and apprentices had competed strongly in WorldSkills competitions for decades.
"The WorldSkills Regional Competition is a fantastic opportunity for our talented local competitors to test their skills against some of the best in a range of vocational areas."
"WorldSkills is a real collaboration between TAFE, industry partners and students to showcase and highlight talent in these in-demand industries."
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