Wollongbar TAFE carpentry student Bevan Cuthbertson has won the Regional WorldSkills competition held in Coffs Harbour.

Bevan competed against twenty other young apprentices in a challenging test of their skills, contending for the gold medal and a place in the WorldSkills National competition held in Sydney next year from 30 August to 1 September 2012.

“It was a very challenging competition and it’s great to win the gold medal and I’m really looking forward to competing in the Nationals next year in Sydney” said Bevan Cuthbertson.

“I’ve had great support from my teachers at TAFE and my employer Andrew Priestley and Northern Rivers Group Training” continued Bevan.

David Harris, Head Teacher of Construction at Wollongbar TAFE said the event organisers selected the competitors from all over the region and also set up an expert judging panel drawn from industry to assess the competitors’ skills against strict criteria.

“Bevan has a bright future ahead of him and the staff and students of North Coast TAFE Wollongbar Campus are very proud his achievement” said David Harris.

WorldSkills Australia competitions operate on a two year cycle. Regional competitions flow into National competitions and winners, if eligible, will advance to the International competition to represent their country.

WorldSkills Australia is an independent, non profit organisation that conducts trade and skill competitions to challenge young people to achieve work skill excellence.