Western Australia’s secondary school students have been judged the best in the nation after they scooped the pool at the recent 2021 WorldSkills Australia National Championships held in Perth.
Minister for Education and Training, Sue Ellery said TeamWA won the Vocational Education and Training in Schools (VETiS) Shield for the second time running in a display of the State’s training and skills excellence.
Ms Ellery said of the 150 medals awarded, TeamWA competitors won 54 medals — 19 gold, 22 silver and 13 bronze — and seven awards for excellence.
She said a total of 16 medals were won by Perth South competitors, earning them the Evatt Shield for best performing region.
The Minister said a total of 239 talented apprentices, trainees and students competed in 55 different skills events, which were also held in several satellite locations across Australia.
Ms Ellery said new skills on display this year were cyber security and cloud computing, along with the mechatronics, visual merchandising and VETiS primary industries categories.
“TeamWA’s 82 competitors included the 23 Year 12 students who are undertaking VET studies at 16 secondary schools across the State who won the VETiS Shield,” she said.
Ms Ellery said almost 10,500 visitors watched TeamWA and Team Tasmania compete live in Perth and around 10,000 people tuned into the national events via a live stream.
The Minister said the past 18 months had demonstrated how crucial skills and training were for building a sustainable workforce that could meet immediate and long-term skills needs.
“TeamWA’s achievements will inspire a new generation of talent to follow a VET pathway into our State’s skilled workforce,” Ms Ellery said.
