TAFE NSW apprentice heads to WorldSkills

NEW SOUTH WALES automotive apprentice Ross Colquhoun will represent Australia at next month’s WorldSkills competition in Lyon, France.

Following his success at the WorldSkills Nationals earlier this year, Mr Colquhoun will join top Australian competitors from fields including Auto Body Repair, Automotive Mechanics, Automotive Refinishing, Heavy Vehicle Mechanics and Motorcycle Mechanics – as well as those from outside of the automotive industry – to take on rivals from 88 member countries.

For close to 50 years, the WorldSkills competition has provided top-tier apprentices from a range of trades the opportunity to pit their skills against one another, creating opportunities for countless young men and women as they prepare to enter the workforce.

Mr Colquhoun said he turned his focus to automotive technology in part as an ode to his late father, his entrance into the WorldSkills competition running in parallel to his apprenticeship and training commitments with NSW TAFE.

“I’d like to extend a massive thank you to everyone who has supported me from day-one. It has been an incredible experience to date,” said Mr Colquhoun.

Supported by industry experts Clint Flower and Kirk Trease, Mr Colquhoun will vie against top apprentices from across the globe.

The winners will join an elite list of champions in gaining not only the respect of their peers, but unparalleled opportunity in a modern and fast-changing vocation.

“In a fortnight we are headed to Lyon in France. We have been 12 months in training, and Ross is Australia’s representative for mechanics in Lyon this year,” said NSW TAFE head teacher and WorldSkills expert Kirk Trease.

“We are going there to compete against the rest of the world and to find out who the top mechanical apprentices are on the planet. We’re ready, we’re coming, and we’re going to put on a great show there in Lyon.”

Mr Trease urged the automotive industry to get behind the WorldSkills program and to help drive the future of the trade, saying, “If you want to support the youth of Australia in growing their skills to a world-recognised level, and in building our industry, you can talk to the team at WorldSkills Australia and find a way to involved and inspire others to do the same.”

The WorldSkills competition will take place in Lyon, France from September 10-15. GoAuto will report on the progress of Ross Colquhoun and other automotive industry apprentices throughout the course of their journey.