Pair refine their skills for national competition
Two South Regional TAFE students in the South West are honing their bricklaying techniques ready for the prestigious WorldSkills National competition in Perth next April.
Bricklaying apprentice Tim Pratt and VET in Schools bricklaying student Tristen Harding have been preparing to pit their skills against others from WA and the rest of Australia.
Tim won a silver medal in the WorldSkills Regional competition and the 2020 WA Master Builders Award for best performing bricklaying apprentice in the South West. He also competed in the 2019 Australian Golden Trowel in Queensland, finishing seventh out of 18 teams – an exceptional effort considering Tim was only in his first year of his apprenticeship at the time.
Tim, who will represent the South West Region in Team WA, said he was excited about the National competition, which would give him a chance to work on his attention to detail.
Tim’s employers Dale Alcock (ABN Training) have been supportive of his involvement and encouraged him to strive at a competition level.
For his part, Tristen will join the VET in Schools team, an experience that will give him the edge when applying for a position in the workforce and be an excellent addition to his résumé.
He has demonstrated his dedication to bricklaying during work experience with a local bricklayer and is keen to further his career in the construction industry.
Tristen won a silver medal at the 2019 WorldSkills Regional competition, held at South Regional TAFE’s Bunbury campus.
Both have been training with Lecturer Mark Baker, who has coached many medallists at regional level, He also coached Nikolas Foster, the first Western Australian to win the National title in 2018.
Mark said the competitions provided an excellent chance for apprentices to validate what they had learned and test their skills against others.
“It’s an opportunity to promote the trade and that’s something we are very passionate about here which is why we work closely with industry to help make this happen.”
Pictured above are Tristen Harding at the WorldSkills Regional competition and Tim Pratt.