14 October 2008
Three soldiers in the New Zealand Defence Force Worldskills team picked up three gold medals at the biennial Worldskills NZ National Finals held at WelTec in Petone in September.
Sapper Michael Dean won gold for his carpentry skills, Sapper Peter Fuller, plumbing, and Private Kirsty Lister, Restaurant Services and ‘Best in Region’.
The team of eight NZDF trade trainees competed against trade trainees and apprentices from polytechnics and technical institutes from around New Zealand.
“Our team did exceptionally well and our three gold medal winners may be selected as part of the NZ Team that will travel to Calgary in Canada next year for the WorldSkills International competition,” said team manager Lieutenant Rik Anderson.
National finalists are sourced from the eight regional Worldskills NZ competitions, direct from industry or apprentice block courses. Skills categories at the event include automotive engineering, bricklaying, electrical wiring and cookery.
“Worldskills provides a fantastic opportunity for our NZDF trade trainees to demonstrate their level of expertise and to show that their training is second to none,” said Lt Anderson.
Private Kirsty Lister was also part of a team from the NZDF Joint Forces Catering School which took out the top honours in the Nestlé Toque d’Or competition in September.