POLISHED ACT: Car painter Shaun Dean, from Krystal Klear Carpainters, is competing in the Worldskills contest.
PHOTO/MICHAEL CUNNINGHAM
POLISHED ACT: Car painter Shaun Dean, from Krystal Klear Carpainters, is competing in the Worldskills contest.
PHOTO/MICHAEL CUNNINGHAM
When Whangarei car painter Shaun Dean tested himself earlier this year against Auckland apprentices to make it to a national trades competition, he thought he would do okay. He won.
Mr Dean will head to Hamilton on September 30 to compete in the national WorldSkills contest, with the ultimate prizea place on the national Tool Blacks team.
By the time of the competition, however, Mr Dean will be ineligible for the team as he is too old.
Organisers are still letting him compete, and he says he is there to set a benchmark for other competitors.
Top apprentices and trainees will duel it out in categories ranging from automotive technology to plumbing and heating to hairdressing and floristry.
The best from 15 trades will go to "the Olympics of vocational skills" - the 44th WorldSkills International Competition in Abu Dhabi next year.
Mr Dean has been at this stage of the contest before.
In 2014, the now qualified tradesman - who started his training at Rowsells Collision Repair Centre and works at Krystal Klear Carpainters - came second in his trade category in the Auckland competition and third in the national contest.
He had to enter the Auckland competition because there wasn't a Northland one in his trade.
He isn't the only young Northland tradie heading off to WinTec this time to battle it out in the nationals.
Apprentice automotive technician Morgan Lovelace was encouraged to enter by his former NorthTec tutor.
REVVED UP: Morgan Lovelace, an automotive engineer apprentice at Keith Andrews Trucks, is competing in the Worldskills contest for apprentices throughout New Zealand. PHOTO/MICHAEL CUNNINGHAM
The 19-year old, in his first year at Keith Andrews Trucks, will be one of seven from around New Zealand vying for his trade's place on the Tool Blacks.
"I was reasonably surprised to be told I was good enough to enter," he said.
He has been pulling motors apart and putting them together again since he was 12 years old.
"My old man's a bit of a petrol-head. I naturally drifted into it."
Although he hopes to make the Tool Blacks team, at this stage Mr Lovelace is focusing on the Hamilton competition.
"I'm looking forward to the experience. I imagine I'll be among a lot of talent - that's got to be good."
