Release type: Speech

Date:

Welcoming the 2024 Skillaroos to Parliament

Ministers:

The Hon Andrew Giles MP
Minister for Skills and Training

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Acknowledgement of Country

I want to begin by acknowledging the Ngunnawal and Ngambri peoples, the Traditional Owners of the land we’re meeting on today.

I pay my respects to Elders past and present, and all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people joining us.

Acknowledgements

I want to acknowledge a few people who are here today:

  • Trevor Schwenke, Executive Director and CEO of WorldSkills Australia
  • Bridgette Collins, General Manager and Technical Delegate of WorldSkills Australia
  • Kevin Harris PSM, Chair of WorldSkills Australia Board.
  • The French Ambassador Pierre-André IMBERT


And, of course, I want to acknowledge the WorldSkills team, the Skillaroos, and their mentors.

I also want to welcome the amazing cohort of Fee-Free TAFE students who are joining us this morning from CIT.

Today is all about celebrating skills excellence.

Introduction

Skills drive the future of young people, and the future of Australia. That is a belief that the Albanese Government and Worldskills share.

The WorldSkills Competition showcases Australian vocational education and training internationally and puts centre stage the Government’s mission: to continue strengthening our world-class TAFEs and VET sector.

The contribution of the Skillaroos to building the Australia of the future and encouraging the next generation of skilled Australians is so important and cannot be overstated.

Skillaroos

So to our Skillaroos - welcome back to Australia, and welcome to Parliament House. I’m honoured to be able to host you here today.

You have been on an incredible journey halfway around the world, and I hope that on returning home you are immensely proud of what you have achieved.

This year’s competition was the largest ever, with over 1,400 young people from 70 countries attending and 250,000 people visiting the Lyon region.To represent your country on the international stage takes passion, dedication, hard work and talent.

As a nation, Australians are known to be competitive, especially when it comes to international competition. The Skillaroos came 14th this year by total points scored, which is an incredible achievement.

WorldSkills Team

I want to mention some of the individual achievements among the Skillaroos team.

Harrison Field beat out intense competition to win bronze in Welding. Harry, who studied at TAFE NSW, is an extraordinary young man.

In addition to his latest bronze medal, he was named Young Tradesperson of the Year for NSW in 2023. And his passion has inspired his sister to start an apprenticeship in fitting and machining.

Family can be our biggest inspiration, and one of our other Skillaroos, Ethan Everett, also knows this. Ethan won a medallion of excellence in bricklaying, a craft that was passed down to him from his dad. Not only that, but his dad is a WorldSkills judge and volunteer, so there’s a dynasty being built.

Antoinette Jackson won a medallion of excellence in her skill of painting and decorating. Just before she was about to start a psychology degree, Antoinette realised her love lay in painting and decided to embark on a new career path. Her success at WorldSkills shows she made the right decision.

You all have done so well, and I am thrilled to be the Skills and Training Minister that gets to be here and celebrate such talented young people.

Conclusion

Many of the occupations in demand across Australia have direct VET pathways demonstrating that education and training are part of the solution to the skills shortage. Your involvement in Team Australia has played an important role in promoting these pathways and showcasing the diverse career opportunities available through VET.

Another critical aspect of the skills shortage question is making sure everyone has access to top-quality education.

We believe in investing in our people – our greatest asset is our people – by investing in them we’re ensuring all Australians have the skills and capacity to contribute to a thriving economy and strong communities.

Looking ahead, the next WorldSkills National Championships will be held in Brisbane next June. I’ll be following the competition closely to see what happens, and who makes the next Skillaroos team.

On behalf of Australia, merci.