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House of Assembly - Fifty-First Parliament, Third Session (51-3)
2009-10-27 Daily Xml
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WORLDSKILLS COMPETITION

Ms BEDFORD (Florey) (14:52): My question is to the Minister for Employment, Training and Further Education. What support has the state government provided for the 2009 WorldSkills Adelaide Region competitions?

The Hon. M.F. O'BRIEN (Napier—Minister for Employment, Training and Further Education, Minister for Road Safety, Minister for Science and Information Economy) (14:52): Known as the Olympics for tradies, WorldSkills Australia is the premier showcase of youth skills and trade excellence. WorldSkills competitions provide young people, their employers, their teachers and their trainers with a wonderful development opportunity whereby they pit their skills and knowledge against their peers in the form of trade-based competitions.

The state government recognises the benefits that this competition provides not only to the competitors but also to the employers. The employers benefit from the increase in confidence and skills that participation brings, and that is why the state government provides funding to support the coordination of the WorldSkills regional and national competitions.

The regional competitions are run in South Australia every two years, and this year 30 competitions were held in Adelaide with more than 250 competitors. Participants competed in a diverse range of trades, spanning heavy vehicle mechanics, welding, baking, carpentry and beauty care.

Tonight I will be attending an event to celebrate the achievement of the successful competitors in the 2009 WorldSkills Adelaide Region competition and I will be awarding over 80 young people with their hard fought and hard won gold, silver and bronze medals. The young men and women who win gold tonight will have the opportunity to go on to compete against Australia's best at the national WorldSkills competition in Brisbane next May. They also have potentially the chance to represent Australia as part of the Skillaroos at the international competitions to be hosted in London in 2011.

I must point out that the competitions are not possible without the strong support from the training providers, who not only train the students but also volunteer time and support towards the running of the event, and the employers who support and encourage their employees and staff to participate in this important learning experience. These competitions are vital in providing young people with the opportunity to challenge themselves to excel in their particular field and to know that they measure up to world-class standards. I would like to reiterate: it may well be that a number of young South Australians will be in London in the very near future pitting their skills against the very best in the world.

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