Northern Rivers Group Training Company (NRGT) carpentry apprentice Bevan Cuthbertson is heading to the National WorldSkills Construction Competition next year after taking out the regional competition held in Coffs Harbour this week.
The 21year old from Byron Bay is in the third year of his apprenticeship and is working with host employer Andrew Priestley based in the Byron Bay Hinterland.
NRGT manager Toni Bellos congratulated Bevan on an outstanding achievement in the face of some very tough competition. Ms Bellos said Bevan competed against 20 apprentices from Kempsey to Wollongbar in a complex scaled roof exercise.
“NRGT prides itself on helping young people to be the best in their trade and Bevan has demonstrated his ability,” Ms Bellos said.
The national competition will be held in Sydney in September 2012. If Bevan is successful at the national level, he will earn himself a trip to Germany in 2013 to represent Australia in the international competition, the Trade Olympics.
NRGT is a division of HVTC, Australia’s oldest and largest Group Training Organisation. It has apprenticeship completion rates of 85%, well above the industry average of 50%.