Ross Colquhorn, an Automotive Technology student, and Lestatt Hammond-Hurst, a Retail Baking student from Glenreagh, will represent Australian skills training on the world stage in September 2024.

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Since 1950, the WorldSkills International Championships have united vocational apprentices and trainees from around the world to compete in their respective disciplines.

Competitions are designed by industry and skills experts who assess an individual’s knowledge, practical competence, and employability skills against a set of strict criteria.

The students who make up part of the Australian team, known as the Skillaroos, will travel to France in September where they will test their skills against competitors from more than 75 countries.

The TAFE NSW Skillaroo team members are at the top of their training in their respective disciplines.

Member for Coffs Harbour Gurmesh Singh met up with Ross recently, recognising him as an outstanding representative of the Coffs Coast and his country.

“I know Ross is looking forward to testing his skills against competitors from around the globe,” said Mr Singh, Shadow Minister for Tourism, Emergency Services and the North Coast.

“WorldSkills will provide Ross with unique learning opportunities – his selection for the national team speaks volumes of his dedication to his course and the high-quality support he enjoys from his TAFE teachers and his employer, A1 Mobile Mechanical Services.”

Ross said the exposure and recognition that WorldSkills has given him will be life changing.

“I could never have reached this level without the world-class training from TAFE NSW and so many other industry professionals,” Ross said.

Yet to be visited by Mr Singh, TAFE NSW Skillaroo Lestatt Hammond-Hurst is baking up a storm that’s sure to lure the Member for Coffs Harbour in for a croissant soon.

Lestatt is a bit of a star in the Glenreagh community where he lives and works in the burgeoning Glenreagh Bakery.

The village’s residents are holding their breath for him to shine on the WorldSkills International Championships stage in France.

And he knows it.

“Every day people call out to me at work that they are so excited for me,” Lestatt told NOTA.

“I feel the pressure 100 percent, but each day is a step forward and it’s an outstanding honour I did not expect to happen to me.”

Lestatt said he owes a debt of gratitude to his ‘boss’ Brooke Stephen, proprietor of the Glenreagh Baker.

“She has helped me so much,” Lestatt said.

The young baker is now in practice mode.

“I train weekly, if not daily, to get the product perfectly down to how it has to be.”

The baking contest at WorldSkills is over three days and the participants have already received their instructions.

“We are baking croissants, Danish pastries, sourdough, baguettes, brioche products and a showpiece.”

The showpiece is chosen by the student baker and Lestatt is keeping his confidential for now.

“The theme is ‘Australian’,” he said, then kept his lips firmly sealed.

Minister for Skills, TAFE and Tertiary Education Steve Whan said, “The WorldSkills International Championships will provide these TAFE NSW students, all hailing from regional areas, with amazing and potentially life-changing learning opportunities.”

For more, please visit www.worldskills.org.au/what-we-do/worldskills-australia-competitions/international/.

By Andrea FERRARI