A group of metalwork apprentices from Nepean Engineering have swapped steel for gold, silver and bronze at this year’s regional WorldSkills competition.

Held at Chullora TAFE earlier this month, the Manufacturing and Engineering competition pitted the skills of apprentices from western Sydney against each other for the right to go through to
next year’s National Finals in Brisbane.

Nine apprentices from Nepean Engineering took part in the competition across five skill categories.
Six of those picked up medals - Alex Cook a Silver and Matt Stoker a Bronze in Turning, Luke ossenger a Silver in Fitting, Josh Hayden a Silver in Welding, and Chris Coe a Bronze and Adam Garzotto a Gold in Construction Steelwork.

In addition, Matt Stoker, Adam Stark, Dane Taylor and Justin Laird picked up certificates in various categories.

Adam Garzotto has now won the right to represent the Sydney West region at the nationals in Brisbane next year, with the winner of that competition given the opportunity to represent Australia at the world finals.

The WorldSkills program is run in regions across Australia by WorldSkills Australia to promote and celebrate skills and Vocational Education and Training (VET). Projects of each competition category are carefully designed and judged by industry experts to align with the current training nd education provided within Australia's VET system.

Stephen Cantrill, Production Manager at Nepean Engineering, said the company was delighted with the results achieved by its enthusiastic group of apprentices.

"We've been involved in the competition over a number of years. It’s a great opportunity for our apprentices to show what they’ve learned and benchmark their skills against their peers," he said.

“As a company, we take a lot of pride in our long-standing apprentice program.

"We have a reputation for engineering excellence, built on the skills and experience of our highly qualified people. Our apprentices are a key part of that skills strategy, and a significant investment in the future of our company and Australian manufacturing."

Nepean Engineering is part of Nepean Group, Australia’s leading privately owned, specialised engineering and industrial manufacturing group.