Three TAFE NSW – Northern Sydney Institute Ryde College students have been selected for the Australian Skillaroos team who will compete at the 41st WorldSkills International Competition, London in October 2011.
Joseph Astorga (Commercial Cookery), Kate Crocker (Restaurant Service) and Richard May (Landscape and Design) were amongst 30 Australian Skillaroos who were officially announced at the Australian Training Awards at Sydney Olympic Park on 19 November, 2010.
Senator Chris Evans, Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills, Jobs and Workplace Relations announced the Skillaroos and presented each of them with a certificate of achievement.
The WorldSkills International Competition will be a showcase of global skills standards displayed by competitors from over 50 countries representing 45 skill areas.
Joseph, Kate and Richard will spend the next 10 months refining their skills in preparation to compete against other competitors from around the world in their quest for gold.
The Skillaroos are competitors from the 2010 WorldSkills Australia National Competition, held in Brisbane last May.
Richard May, who received a silver medal at the national competition, said he was ecstatic to hear he had been given a chance to compete at international level.
“It’s awesome!” he said. “It’s going to be a much bigger project and I’m a little nervous considering the number of people who will be there watching us, but I’m really looking forward to it.”
The international competition is expected to draw crowds of over 150,000 people.
The Australian Skillaroos team will be defending Australia’s current 5th place ranking in the world at the competition.