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Taree apprentice wins medal in national WorldSkills competition7 July 2004 Jason Kingsmill, an electronics apprentice working at Office Data Systems, won a silver medal at the recent national WorldSkills competition held at Brisbane Convention Centre. Jason, a second-year apprentice doing the Certificate III in Electronics –Trade at the North Coast Institute of TAFE NSW, competed against apprentices from all over Australia over three very intense days. Jason said that he found the competition an inspiration because he discovered that he was actually better than he thought. “I also learnt a lot, and the WorldSkills competition is a great opportunity for all the competitors to improve their skills.” Jason said. He also discovered he had hidden talents in fault-finding in televisions, a 4-hour event on day 2 of competition. “I wasn’t very confident, having only ever done a similar exercise on one TV before,” he said. Jason and the small group of competitors were also tested on building a frequency generator, finding faults in circuit boards and working on removing,. Cleaning and replacing electrical components. “There was quite a lot of theoretical calculation involved as well,” Jason added. Teacher Brenton Burden, at Port Macquarie Campus, said that Jason showed incredible commitment, travelling form Taree to Port Macquarie for the theory classes and fast-tracking the learning so that he learnt the three years content within two years. “He also worked hard in increasing his knowledge and skills in audio and television, so that he’d be more competitive in the national competition.” Employer Don Phillips, Managing Director of Office Data Systems in Taree, was happy for Jason to commit more time to learning the theory. “We encourage all of our apprentices to excel, both at the academic and the practical level,” Mr Phillips said. “When you think about it, it’s an investment in the future. We see the apprenticeship system as a win-win for everyone.” Mr Phillips has always employed apprentices, often engaging people like Jason 18 months to 2 years before the perceived need, and ensuring that his employees end up with the right service ethos and his company continues improving in productivity and offering to the customers. This was the first apprentice from Office Data Systems to go to the WorldSkills competition. “I’m delighted that he did so well”, said Mr Phillips. Neil Black, the Director of TAFE NSW’s North Coast Institute, said that that it was continuing evidence that the North Coast Institute was turning out highly skilled students who are “work-ready” for a job in their field almost anywhere in Australia.
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Jason Kingsmill in action at the National Worldskills competition Brisbane 2004 Contact: |
