Gladstone Ports Corporation electrical apprentices shine at CQU’s WorldSkills competitions
By Greg Chapman
Central Queensland’s top apprentice ‘sparkies’ have been put through their paces during a recent WorldSkills regional competition hosted at CQUniversity’s Mackay Ooralea campus.
Seventeen apprentices competed in the Electrical Installation and Electrical Control events, their skills and knowledge – acquired on the job and during their CQU studies – on full display.
The apprentices were given a series of tasks, including locating faults in circuit boards or wiring up stop-start connections as part of the competition, with their problem-solving abilities carefully assessed by the judges.
Upon completion of the events, six Gladstone Ports Corporation (GPC) apprentices were named as the winners of the two electrical competitions.
Ashley Cassar received the gold medal in the Electrical Control event.
“I’m absolutely stoked about being receiving the gold medal – it’s a huge personal achievement having all my practice and the extra time I spent pay off,” he said.
“As a third-year apprentice I was competing against various other apprentices of all different year levels, skills sets and experience types. Overcoming this hurdle via training from my senior tradesmen as well as learning about basic principles at CQU TAFE made this extremely achievable.”
Silver medallist Jason Stanhope said it was rewarding to finish the install and be commended on his work as a fourth-year apprentice.
“A lot of the equipment used in the install I have worked with before during my apprenticeship but putting it all together in the limited time with the pressure of the competition was definitely challenging,” he said.
“I can’t fault the training provided by GPC and CQU and the results of the competition reflect the time and effort that has gone into us apprentices especially by our tradesmen, supervisors, training coordinators, teachers and mentors.
Third-year apprentice Josh Sparrow, who took out the bronze, said he was proud of his achievement.
“I definitely found it challenging on the time-based side of things,” he said.
“I think the training I’ve received through CQU and GPC has really helped me throughout my apprenticeship and helps me perform well as an apprentice electrician at GPC.”
In the Electrical Installation event, third-year apprentice Saxon Smith was awarded the gold medal.
“I was stoked when I heard name get called up to say that I had won,” he said.
“I found the competition to be very challenging as you must be on top of your time management and be precise with all measurements and terminations.
“The training and support I have got from CQU and GPC have been a tremendous help for me as I was able to understand and efficiently complete board wiring, two-way switching, control circuits, etc, quickly while being under pressure from the clock.
“GPC has gone the extra mile and allowed us time inside of work hours to complete some extra training to prepare me for the competition which I couldn’t be more grateful for.”
Third year-apprentice Aiden Philippov was very happy to receive the silver medal and put his skills into practice.
“This was the first time I competed in a world skills competition, and I honestly thought it was going to be easier than it was. It was a truly challenging competition putting your skills, knowledge and time management to the test,” he said.
“The tradespeople at GPC are extremely knowledgeable and really focus on passing it on to the next generation, and because of this I feel I am a step ahead of other apprentices. I have done all of my CQU training at the Gladstone campus and I’m almost completed my TAFE training. All the teachers have a wide experience in different sections of the electrical trade so it is very easy to find and pick different types of information out of each of them.”
Bronze medallist Poppy Logden agreed the training at GPC and CQU put her in good stead for WorldSkills.
“The training I have received from CQU and GPC has been outstanding, it has helped me become the apprentice that I am today,” she said.
“It has helped give me a fundamental understanding of knowledge and the skills required for everything I needed to be able to successfully complete the tasks in the competition.
“I received the bronze medal for electrical install. I feel proud to have received the medal, especially when I was competing against very skilled apprentices whose workmanship is incredible.”
CQU’s WorldSkills coordinator Jackie Campbell said: “WorldSkills not only showcases the talents of CQ’s apprentices, it also puts a spotlight on CQU’s trades training capability, equipment and facilities.”
If eligible, gold medallists Ashley and Saxon will progress onto the WorldSkills National competitions in 2025.
For more information visit https://www.cqu.edu.au/study/tafe/world-skills-central-queensland-regional-competition