Young Aussie electrician recognised at international ‘trade Olympics'

A young electrician was one of the members of the Australian WorldSkills team that won 10 medals at the 40th International WorldSkills Competition in Canada - the ‘Olympic Games’ of trade skills.

Gavin Press, from Kelso, NSW, received a Medallion of Excellence in the Electrical Installations category. These medallions are only awarded to the elite few competitors from the world-class field in each category. His strong finish was a fitting reward for more than 12 months of intense training.

Over the period of a week, more than 800 of the best tradies and apprentices from around the world had their skills put to the test in a wide range of disciplines as diverse as bricklaying, electrical, welding, floristry and web design, in front of a crowd of 250,000 at Stampede Park in Calgary.

The Australian team retained its international fifth place ranking, with ten medals out of the 24 categories it competed in - more than doubling the medals from its last international competition in 2007.

Australia secured gold medals in the Beauty Therapy and Restaurant Service categories; silver medals in Plumbing, IT Software Applications and the Manufacturing Team Challenge; and bronze medals in Web Design, Sheetmetal Work, Wall and Floor Tiling, Welding and Bricklaying.

CEO of WorldSkills Australia Mark Callaghan said: “Ten medals is an outstanding achievement and one that is well deserved by the team. All of our Skillaroos did their country proud and once again we have demonstrated that our Australian vocational education and training system is world class.

“Gavin Press displayed an exceptional amount of focus and determination to bring home a Medallion of Excellence. It was truly an inspiring effort and I’m sure they are celebrating his success back home in Kelso.”