Tutor takes Tool Blacks to the top

Tutor takes Tool Blacks to the top

CPIT plumbing and drain laying tutor Ritchie Gorrie will head to London on October 1 as a coach and judge at WorldSkills trade and technical competition. Gorrie will accompany the Tool Blacks team from New Zealand in support of his plumbing trainee Scott Nicholson, who was a winner at the WorldSkills nationals held at CPIT last year.

The Tool Blacks have been preparing for over a year and Gorrie has been there every step of the way, helping with fundraising and sponsorship as well as coaching Nicholson. The challenge at this year’s WorldSkills is to build a heating radiator in the shape of London Bridge. Nicholson has been practising the task for over two months with the help of his coach. Gorrie believes all the hard work is worth it just to see the team participate and describes the event as motivational and uplifting for trainees.

Gorrie became involved with WorldSkills in 2008 and has been both a coach and judge in regional, national and international competitions. He organises the regional WorldSkills plumbing competitions throughout New Zealand and also runs a national competition to pick the best under-21 plumber for the WorldSkills international team.

As an international judge for WorldSkills 2011, Gorrie will be responsible for ensuring a fair competition. The prestigious event is taken very seriously and his responsibilities as judge will include checking tool boxes for unauthorised tools. It is a highly competitive environment. The competition is “a lot harder than they think” and Gorrie has seen some trainees “crumble under the pressure”. However he believes plumbing trainee Nicholson has a good chance of coming home with a medal. Nicholson is confident and thinks the task should be pretty straight forward. He is hoping for gold.

ENDS

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