WorldSkills competitions
WorldSkills competitions develop and showcase skills excellence. They aim to raise the status of skilled vocations throughout the world. This global movement has over 75 member countries, that meet every two years to compete in over 50 skills categories.
WorldSkills Australia manages the program across Australia’s thirty regions, with regional competitions held in year one, followed by winners progressing to the national competition in year two. The Department of Training and Workforce Development manages competition activity in Western Australia across five regions, which are:
- Perth North;
- Perth South;
- South West WA;
- North West WA; and
- Goldfields.
2019 is a Regional competition year, which means that competitions will be held across Western Australia. Winners from the competitions will be selected to compete as members of Team WA at the National Championship in 2020. For more information about the National Championship, please visit the WorldSkills Australia website.
Skill categories
There are a number of competition skill categories. They are divided into open and VET in Schools levels across a number of industry areas.
How it works
The Department works with TAFEs and private training providers to run competitions in all five regions of Western Australia. The competitions normally take place during the second half of the regional year.
Competition dates are confirmed at different times of the year and are dependent on availability of venues and the minimum number of six competitors being reached. Every competitor is allocated to a region. A competitor’s region is determined by where they live, work or study. In some cases, a competitor may find they could belong to more than one region. In this case, the competition organisers reserve the right to allocate them to a region to ensure there are equal numbers competing.
Entrants can only compete in one regional competition per skill in one year.
Entering the competition
Entry to the competition is by application through the WorldSkills team at the Department. As soon as the application date closes (determined by each competition organiser), competitors are sent details of the competition venue and times.
Competitors are sent a competition pack, which contains details of the project tasks and a list of tools to bring on competition day. These will normally be tools of the trade. In the case of the VETiS competitions, tools are usually supplied by the competition organiser.
Most competitions are held at TAFEs or private training providers. Occasionally, competitions may be held at a suitable public event.
Eligibility
To compete in a VETiS regional competition, students must be in year eleven and studying a national VET qualification. VETiS competitors must still be at school to compete at national level the following year.
To compete in an open competition, competitors must be aged 23 or younger. To be age-eligible to compete at regional competition (open level) in 2017, competitors must be born on or after 1 January 1996.
To be age-eligible to compete at national competition (open level) in 2018, competitors must be born on or after 1 January 1996.
For participation at the 46th WorldSkills International competition in 2021 in Shanghai, China, competitors must be born on or after 1 January 1999.
The competition projects
WorldSkills competitions are practical projects aligned to VET training packages.
At regional level, the competition project runs for a full day and is usually made up of a number of set modules that need to be completed within a set time. The projects are then assessed by judges from training and industry.
Winners receive their results after the projects have been judged with Gold, Silver or Bronze medals presented to the top three performers in each category.
Winners may be selected to join TeamWA at the WorldSkills Australia National Competition the following year.
Frequently asked questions
Browse the list below or contact us for further information about WorldSkills competitions in Western Australia.
Every region can run as many or as few categories of competition as they want during regional year, but there must be a minimum of six competitors to make the competition valid. Check the competition timetable or contact us to find a competition in your area.
If there is no competition in your region, or that competition is full then you may be able to join another region’s competition. Contact us for details.
Most competitors enter through their training provider, applying through their lecturer in their skill area, but you can also contact us directly for information on how to apply.
Yes you can compete at open level if you are qualified, as long as you meet the age entry requirements. This is also the case if you are selected for TeamWA following your result regional level before you qualify, but finish training before the national competition.
Yes you can compete at open level, as long as you meet the age entry requirements.
In certain cases, we will allow year twelve students to compete, but they can not progress to the national competition and priority is always given to year eleven students.
There is nothing to stop you competing at open level, however as the competitions are aligned to training package competencies and are generally aimed at around Certificate III level, you may require some additional training.
Please note, you may need to be 18 to progress through to the WSA National Competition in certain categories (eg in restaurant service, due to the service of alcohol).
You cannot enter a skill category more than once, so you cannot enter one region’s turning competition and then enter turning in a different region in the same year.
As long as you are age eligible, you can continue to compete. Many competitors start off as VETiS competitors, then progress through to the open categories.
You can also compete more than once at national level, as long as you are successful in the regional competition in the preceding year and age-eligible.
The international competition is three years after the regional competition and competitors must still not be older than 22 in the year they compete, according to international rules. The age limit for international competition is set by WorldSkills International, aggregating across all the member countries.WorldSkills Australia sets the upper limit for regional and national competition and they allow progression as far as national level up to the age of 23.
WorldSkills Australia currently runs a BBM Skilled futures program that some successful competitors can apply to do, if they are not eligible for an international competition pathway.
TeamWA national results
Winners from regional competitions may get the opportunity to represent their State as members of TeamWA at the WorldSkills Australia national competition. The competition is held every two years and moves between states.
National competition projects are completed over three days and the winners are announced at the closing ceremony. The event features approximately 500 competitors from around Australia in over 50 skill areas.
In 2014, The WorldSkills Australia National Competition was held in Perth. You can view highlights of the competition on the video below.
TeamWA 2018 winners
The 2018 WorldSkills Australia National Competition was held in Sydney. Team WA excelled with 21 medals won, and 11 of 17 of Team WA's secondary schools students winning the VETiS Shield,a prestigious trophy previously only won by New South Wales since it was created in 2001.
VETiS competitions, VETiS categor names and the VETiS Shield are terms used by WorldSkills Australia, who own and operate the competition program.
2018 WorldSkills Team WA VET in Schools National Championships results
| Name | Category | Medal | School |
|---|---|---|---|
| Michael McLevie | VETiS Business services | Gold | St Norbert College |
| Matthew Hodges | VETiS Information technology | Gold | St Norbert College |
| Caitlin Budd | VETiS Electrotechnology | Bronze | Karratha Senior High School |
| Kaleb Milsom | VETiS Metals and engineering | Gold | CBC Fremantle |
| Josh Semper | VETiS Metals and engineering | Bronze | Gilmore College |
| Anne Kyla Bautista | VETiS Commercial cookery | Gold | South Fremantle SHS |
| Brandi Burnett | VETiS Food and beverage | Gold | Pinjarra SHS |
| Jasmin Fussell | VETiS Food and beverage | Silver | Cape Naturalist College |
| Sophie Morgan | VETiS Food and beverage | Bronze | Eaton Community College |
| Nathan Barclay | VETiS Construction | Bronze | Ellenbrook Secondary College |
| Caitlin Carmody | VETiS Hairdressing | Gold | Bunbury Catholic College |
2018 WorldSkills Team WA National Championships Results
| Name | Category | Medal | Training organisation |
Employer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nikolas Foster | Bricklaying | Gold | South Regional TAFE | Dale Alcock Homes |
| Kevin Dirks | Cabinetmaking | Silver | South Regional TAFE | Glen Holst Furniture |
| Brittany Ellery | Floristry | Bronze | South Metropolitan TAFE | Tesselaar |
| Anthony Musca | Graphic design technology | Bronze | North Metropolitan TAFE | Pelican Manufacturing |
| Cameron Lennox | Heavy vehicle mechanics | Silver | South Metropolitan TAFE | Cunninghams AG Services |
| Terah-Jade Cross | Painting and decorating | Gold | MPS Skills | Pretl and Williams |
| Nicholas Lozanovski | Painting and decorating | Silver | MPA Skills | Relianz Handworks |
| Mark Quattrini | Plumbing | Silver | MPA Skills | Tital Plumbing & CIvil |
| Angie Zhang | Retail baking – Pastry | Bronze | South Metropolitan TAFE | Corica Pastries |
| Matthew Dempsey | Sheetmetal work | Bronze | North Metropolitan TAFE | Reidoz Engineering |
TeamWA 2016 medal winners
The 2016 WorldSkills Australia National Competition was held in Melbourne. TeamWA won 27 medals in total, breaking all previous records. See the table below, or view a complete list of Western Australia's medal results from previous national competitions.
Gold medal
| Dusti-lee Franchi | Vehicle painting (South Metropolitan TAFE) |
| Nicholas Johnston | Cabinetmaking (South Regional TAFE) |
| Michael Ingram | Painting and decorating (South Metropolitan TAFE) |
| Chris Williamson | Graphic design technology (North Metropolitan TAFE) |
| Brody Young-Steedman | Cookery (South Metropolitan TAFE) |
| Jason Nesbitt | Jewellery (North Metropolitan TAFE) |
| Courtney Huyerman | VETiS Cookery (Safety Bay Senior High School) |
| Thomas Pratt | VETiS Metals and engineering (Gilmore College) |
Silver medal
| Damien Kleyn | Autobody repair (South Metropolitan TAFE) |
| Simon Nelissen | Heavy vehicle (South Metropolitan TAFE) |
| Conrad Yeeles | Bricklaying (South Metropolitan TAFE) |
| Luke Brown | Plumbing (MPA Skills) |
| Amy Brown | Floristry (South Metropolitan TAFE) |
| Hayley Allen | Restaurant service (South Metropolitan TAFE) |
| Ben Halsall | Turning (South Metropolitan TAFE) |
| Taylor Samson | Wall and floor tiling (South Metropolitan TAFE) |
| Brandon Gathercole | VETiS Food and beverage (Hamilton Senior High School) |
| Teisha Pink | VETiS Tourism (Kolbe Catholic College) |
Bronze medal
| Cameron Lennox | Heavy vehicle (South Metropolitan TAFE) |
| John Pattrick | Electrical installation (Central Regional TAFE) |
| Paul Lampert | Painting and decorating (MPA Skills) |
| Sarah Tassone | Hairdressing (South Regional TAFE) |
| Sallie Brittain | Cookery (South Regional TAFE) |
| Elliot Thorpe | Plastering (South Metropolitan TAFE) |
| Will Trundle | VETiS Automotive services (Ocean Reef Senior High School) |
| Stuart Fisher | VETiS Business services (Shenton College) |
| Kennedy Sorrell | VETiS Carpentry (CBC Fremantle) |
Skills Squad and Skillaroos
A number of Western Australians have been selected to represent Australia at international competition as members of the Skillaroos. Skillaroos are recruited first to the Skills Squad and need to meet a number of training targets to secure their place on the team.
Following the 2016 WorldSkills Australia National competition, three Western Australians were successful in winning a place as members of the Skillaroos to compete at the 44th WorldSkills competition in Abu Dhabi, 2017. They represented Australia in the following categories.
| Name | International skill category |
| Dusti-lee Franchi | Car painting |
| Nicholas Johnston | Cabinet making |
| Alex Schmidt | 3D Digital game art (demonstration category) |
There is currently one international expert from Western Australia.
| Brendan Hibbert | Graphic design technology |
The Skillaroos and their experts travelled to Abu Dhabi to compete at the 44th WorldSkills Australia International Competition which was held from 14–19th October 2017. The next international competition will be held in Kazan, Russia, in 2019. More information can be found by visiting the WorldSkills Australia website.
Previous international competitors
Western Australia's Skillaroos from previous competitions can be found in the following table.
| Year | Name | International skill category | Result |
| 2017 | Dusti-lee Franchi | Car painting | Medallion for excellence |
| Nick Johnston | Cabinet making | Medallion for excellence | |
| Alex Schmidt | 3D Digital game art | ||
|
2015 |
Joseph Pauley | Industrial mechanic millwright | Silver |
| Sharlene Kidd | Painting and decorating | Ern MacDonald Fellowship* | |
| 2013 | Tayron Scagnetti | Jewellery | Silver |
| Alan Ramsden | Bricklaying | Medallion for excellence | |
| Jessamy Mooney | Hairdressing | Medallion for excellence | |
| 2011 | Alexis Scott | Hairdressing | Bronze |
| Natalie Hibbins | Jewellery | Medallion for excellence | |
| Jake Hall | Wall and floor tiling | Medallion for excellence |
Western Australia has one previous international expert:
| Ron Simeon | Wall and floor tiling |
A full list of previous Skillaroos is available on the WorldSkills Australia website.
*The Ern MacDonald Fellowship is awarded through a competitive process to WorldSkills Australia National Competition medal winners in construction categories.
Western Australian champions
Images of WorldSkills champions from Western Australia
Contact us
For general information about WorldSkills, visit the WorldSkills Australia website. If you have questions about WorldSkills Competitions in Western Australia, you can contact us:
by phone:
08 6551 5939
by email:
by post:
Department of Training and Workforce Development
Locked Bag 16
Osborne Park DC 6916
You can also follow us on social media and the WorldSkills WA blog, which is updated with occasional news stories.