2013 New Zealand “Tool Blacks” announced

Tuesday, 4 September 2012, 5:36 pm
Press Release: Worldskills

2013 New Zealand “Tool Blacks” announced

WorldSkills New Zealand media release, 4 September 2012

The team to represent New Zealand at WorldSkills 2013 has been named this week, with 14 young tradespeople from around the country earning their place as “Tool Blacks”.

Held every two years, WorldSkills 2013 is an international competition in which skilled tradespeople from around the world compete for the honour of being recognised as the best in their vocation.

In July next year more than 1000 competitors from 61 countries will descend upon Leipzig, Germany, to compete in 45 different categories. These include traditional trades, such as cooking, plumbing and welding, but also a number of newer disciplines, such as aircraft maintenance and floristry.

The competition is open to anyone who has completed their training and in under the age of 22.

New Zealand’s “Tool Blacks” were selected after the WorldSkills New Zealand national finals in July this year, which saw the best young apprentices from eight regions around New Zealand battle it out.

Peter Spencer, Chief Executive of WorldSkills New Zealand, said there are a number of benefits that come from these competitions.

“Our young tradespeople learn to set goals for themselves and excel under all kinds of pressure, which is great for their self-confidence, but mainly it’s about benchmarking our training against the best from around the world to ensure we are training to the highest standards.

“It’s great for New Zealand too. These competitions highlight career opportunities and encourage young New Zealanders to take up trades and work hard to succeed, and we also get the opportunity to show the quality of our workforce on the international stage.”

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The “Tool Blacks” now have 10 months to get in as much training and practice as they can to ensure they’ll be ready to take on the world at WorldSkills 2013.

ENDS

2013 Tool Black Team

Skill Category	Competitor	Employer	Town/Region	Expert/Trainer	Employer	Town/Region
Aircraft Maintenance	Michael West	RNZAF	Auckland	Michael Naus	RNZAF	Blenheim
Autobody Repair	Jake Ackers	Holland Collision Centre	Rolleston	Rick Lunn	Regent Training Centre	Whangarei
Automotive Technology	Rodney Nelson	Fieldpower Northland	Whangarei	Lucas Connew	Northtec	Whangarei
Car Painting	Joshua Fistonich	Phill Clark Panelbeaters Ltd	Orewa	Roger Hiini	Resene Automotive and Light Industrial	Auckland
Cooking	William Mordido	Sky City Auckland	Auckland	Stephen Pope	Aoraki Polytechniv	Wellington
Electrical Installations	Logan Hanifin	Laser Electrical	Timaru	Luke Boustridge	Electrical Training Company (ETCO)	Auckland
Industrial Control	Jonathan McFall	Dalton Electrical Ltd	Auckland	Shaun McInerney	Bremca Tauranga	Tauranga
Floristry	Nicole Hazlehurst	Flowers & Balloon, Ashburton	Ashburton	Nina Stanley	Pink Poppie Designer Florist	Blenheim
Hairdressing	Cait Woodcock	Spectra Hair	Palmerston North	Niq James		Christchurch
Joinery	James Buchanan	4 Trades	Dunedin	Peter Leith	Leith Joinery	Dunedin
Plumbing & Heating	Mitchell Bone	Blakemore & Lee Plumbing	Wellington	Ritchie Gorrie	CPIT	Christchurch
Polymechanics	Mark Strange	SWPE Ltd	Tokoroa	Roland Spirig	WINTEC	Hamilton
Sheet Metal Technology				Steve Brooks	Competenz	Palmerston North
Welding	Jaric Savill	Aztec Engineering	Lower Hutt	Jason Beals	NZDF	Palmerston North

Sheet metal: Currently Sheet metal is overseeing further training before making a final decision between two National Competition finalists. It is expected that the competitor for Leipzig will be decided before Xmas 2012.

ENDS

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