Dubbo tradie Clinton Larkings has won the right to represent Australia at the 45th WorldSkills International Competition in Russia next year.
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Clinton is among 23 young Australians who have joined the national team.
At just 21-years-old, Clinton, who is employed by Luke Cross Engineering and Rigging, is now a member of the Skills Squad team, which was selected after their success at the WorldSkills Australia National Championships in Sydney last month.
The championships saw more than 400 of Australia’s best apprentices and trainees compete for the title of National Champion in one of 50 trade and skill categories.
Clinton won gold in the Turning category and is now working towards representing Australia in the Industrial Mechanics Millwright category at the world’s biggest skills excellence competition, in Kazan, Russia, in August 2019.
The best young apprentices and trainees from more than 70 nations will compete in Kazan for the title of World Champion.
Clinton and his Skills Squad team members, who range in age from 17 to 23, will spend the next 10 months working with a dedicated training manager.
Clinton will work with Pete Buttenshaw from TAFE NSW.
Skills Squad team members have been selected from a broad array of trades and skills, ranging from traditional trades such as Bricklaying and Cabinetmaking to skills of the future including Cloud Computing and IT Network Systems Administration.
The team of 23 includes five females in the trade/skill areas of 3D Digital Game Art, Car Painting, Beauty Therapy, Fashion Technology and Graphic Design Technology.
NSW, as the host of the 2018 Skills Show which incorporated the WorldSkills Australia national championships, has the highest representation of any state, with 12 Skills Squad members and 14 training managers.
The majority are either students or teachers at TAFE NSW.
At the last international championships, held in 2017 in Abu Dhabi, Australia finished the competition in 10th position in the WorldSkills International rankings.
WorldSkills Australia CEO Brett Judd said the goal in 2019 was to “maintain and improve on Australia’s top 10 finish”.
“Representing Australia at the World Championships, which can be likened to a skill Olympics, would be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the Skills Squad team members and we are committed to provide them with the best opportunity to prove that they should be selected to compete in Russia next year,” he said.
“Many of the skills being represented are in the skills shortage areas for Australia. For WorldSkills to have outstanding competitors in these areas is very encouraging and an absolute credit to the competitors, their training providers and employers.”
Mr Judd congratulated them on their selection as a Skills Squad team member and said Skills Squad members would need to show dedication, commitment and excellence to be chosen to represent Australia in Russia.
“It’s wonderful to see the opportunities these young people are being given through their trades and skills,” he said.
Mr Judd also recognised and congratulated the training managers on their appointments and applauded them for their commitments to developing their industries and mentoring the Skills Squad members.
A training camp will be held in early September for Skills Squad members and their training managers to develop training programs.