Students trade in their classroom for national championships

Four Ellenbrook Secondary College students are among the strong WA team heading to Melbourne next month to compete in the WorldSkills Australia National Championships.

The championships, set for 17 to 19 August, showcases Australia's best young trainees and apprentices. They will compete, head-to-head, in a series of high-pressure competitions that test their skills and knowledge in their chosen field against their peers.

Held every two years, the national championships are the biggest trades and skills competition in the country. 

WA is well represented this year, with more than 15 public and independent school students making the journey east for the event to show off their Vocational Education and Training (VET) skills.

The competition puts VET students in to real-world situations to test their skills.

“We get to compete in skills that we'd be doing in the workplace,“ says Ellenbrook VET in Schools student, Olivia Williams.

"We're going over to compete in tourism. We'll do a presentation and some role plays, such as dealing with tough customers and managing many customers in a store."

Debbie Harris, a VET coordinator at Ellenbrook, says that the confidence the students take away from competing in these events is great for their future careers.

“To see students aim and achieve at such a level is a very special moment for the school community and it makes us very proud,” says Mrs Harris.

”By having this experience, they can make informed decisions and be highly competitive when applying for further study or employment.”

For more information about the championships, head to the WorldSkills Australia website. Best of luck Team WA.