10 June 2008
Army apprentices showcase their trades
They’re young, relatively new to the Army, and developing as many skills as they can in their chosen careers. And soon they may have the chance to not only showcase their skills to the rest of their industry, but possibly win an all-expenses paid trip to Canada.
The contestants in the recent Wellington Regional WorldSkills competition recall what it’s like when the pressure is on…
“The atmosphere in the workshop was busy and hectic from the word go. Most of us were rushing ( some faster then others) to find wiring faults, dismantle gearboxes, measuring cylinders and crank journals. I love the feeling of being busy and having a deadline to work to. But along with that not compromising my work ethic when I am in a hurry is another big factor. You may think that it is easy to dismantle a gearbox, but there are a lot of small parts inside that take some caressing to get into position. You also have to make sure that you place all parts back into the gearbox so it operates. When working in a workshop environment you also have to make sure you keep all your tools in one spot and that you use the correct tool for the job. It was hard to keep this up for hours when you had the judges watching.
You have a good time and learn heaps at this competition, especially how other apprentices are trained in the industry. I have gained a lot out of this experience and look forward to going to nationals and hope to travel to Canada for the Worlds.” PTE Timothy Corney, apprentice automotive engineer
“There were eight Army and a group of civilians competing. On the first day of travel we went to check out the venue. It was pretty relaxed but a little worrying that we didn’t bring any equipment and had to rely on WelTec to provide it all, and there was a lot. Three NZDF stewards and two civilian competitors were split into two groups. The activities were: decant red wine, flower arrangement, table setting, laying and changing a table cloth, silver service of soup and main course, speciality coffees,crepe suzette on the guerdon, service of red and white wine, six napkin folds, blind wine identification (3 white, 3 red), spirit identification, two classic cocktails and a non alcoholic cocktail. The event started at 0800hrs and finished at about 1630hrs with a lunch break in between. The atmosphere was pretty relaxed. I think the best thing you can do is relax, go with it and have fun. Yes it is scary wondering what those judges are writing down on that clip board, that seem to be chewing through paper watching every little thing you do. But it is all about experience and learning new things. One thing I noticed was the different terminology that we use compared to WelTec and some different ways of doing things. I learnt a lot and had an awesome time and yes, winning was great.” PTE Kirsty Lister, apprentice steward
“We had six stands with an hour allowed per stand. We were partnered off with a civilian competitor, which gave a bit of a real competition feel to the atmosphere, wanting to beat the other person with not only speed but with skill, workshop tidiness, safety, correct tool selection. These were all things the judges were looking for and marking us on. Our skills were tested in a variety of stands like gearbox dismantling and rebuild, finding and rectifying electrical faults in a vehicle. We had to check and service brakes, locate and test sensors on a vehicle, inspect steering and suspension along with set up the Dunlop wheel alignment machine and inspect and dismantle a engine block. All the stands tested our knowledge on what we had learned the year before in C.E.A.T.S course. We all found it very challenging and had to work smartly and in a safe manner to get the task done in time. It was good to meet new people in the trade and especially compare my knowledge with that of civilian apprentices and how they were taught. I found the competition a very good experience and a good way to keep what I had learnt refreshed and even extend my knowledge that bit more. Overall I found it a enjoyable weekend and recommend others to give it ago and maybe win their chance at the nationals and maybe even the big overseas trip!” PTE Dylan Gulliver, apprentice automotive engineer
“I took part in the regional competition with 5 other NZDF chefs from Linton.
The atmosphere in the kitchen was busy and hectic right from the beginning.
Chefs were rushing from left to right, filleting fish, chopping fresh herbs, whisking frantically at bowls. I love that feeling of busyness and having to meet a deadline at the same time as producing a good quality dish which not only tastes good but looks great as well. You may think that producing the yummiest and best looking dish will win you instant gold; it won’t. Chef competitions are more then just cooking. It’s how well you utilise your time, food wastage, keeping your area clean (clean as you go), keeping yourself clean and right down to keeping your plates at the right temperature. It’s hard out and you have to keep your mind on all those factors at the same time as worrying about the judges watching every move you make for four hours.
You have a good time and learn heaps, especially how civilian chefs work and are trained. You gain a lot of experience on how competitions work. Hopefully these experiences will contribute to me winning the nationals and hopefully going to Canada. Fingers crossed! “ PTE Amy Williams, apprentice chef
“I competed with five other Army vehicle mechanics. The competition was split into six individual stands. Each stand had a five minute brief, an hour to get the task complete and ten minutes to pack up and refurbish the task. During the morning I completed my first three tasks - engine management, brakes and electrical. With engine management up first it was a steep learning curve being handed a task and not really knowing what needed to be done. Once I worked out what the task required I got stuck in and learned a lot. Second up was the brakes stand. Armed with the knowledge of how the competition was to work I tackled the brakes stand and completed it without missing too much out. The last stand of the morning was electrical. I’m not sure if it was because I was getting hungry or that I had confused myself but the electrical stand did not go as well as it could have. This seemed to be a common theme throughout the day with the majority of competitors.
After having a wonderful cut lunch I got stuck into my forth stand -gearboxes. This stand went well as I managed to complete the required tasks within time, without too many problems. Next up was suspension which would have been one of my better stands as I didn’t drop too many points and finished well within time. Last up was the engine reconditioning stand. This stand was one of the hardest stands but also my favourite to compete in.
At the end of the day I was very pleased with how the competition went. The judges were all very experienced which made the whole day run very smoothly and also allowed the competitors to learn valuable information and skills.” PTE Ryan Beetham, automotive engineer
The NZDF also hopes to be able to field representatives for the National Competition in electrical wiring, plumbing, carpentry and welding.
If anyone knows of any young trades people within NZDF who would like to compete and are under 22 yrs as at 31 Dec 08 convince them to give it a go and contact LT Rick Anderson, the NZDF World Skills Coordinator. They may win a trip to Canada to compete in the International World Skills Competition.
Contact details:
Lt Rick Anderson
NZDF Regional WorldSkills Coordinator
C/- Trade Training School
TRENTHAM MILITARY CAMP
DTelN 347-7526