NSW school students dominated the Vocational Education and Training in Schools (VETiS) category of the WorldSkills Australia competition winning 19 out of a possible 30 awards.

The awards are open to students still attending secondary schools and colleges undertaking the first year of a two-year Certificate II VET course and cover a range of subjects.

Students completed a series of work-simulated projects based on industry standard frameworks, which are designed and administered by practising teachers and industry professionals.

The 2014 competition featured 10 VETiS categories with Gold, Silver and Bronze winners in each.

NSW VETiS winners included:

GOLD

• Luke Staunton – Newman Senior Technical College (Port Macquarie) – Automotive Services
• Katelyn Dwyer – Newman Senior Technical College (Port Macquarie) – Business Services
• Lucy Whitehurst – Gunnedah High School – Commercial Cookery
• Steven Butler – Yanco Agricultural High School / Wagga Wagga TAFE College – Electrotechnology
• Kate Sandford – Red Bend Catholic College (Forbes) – Primary Industries
• Elysia Brand – Sydney Secondary College, Blackwattle Bay Campus / Ulitimo TAFE College – Tourism

SILVER

• Renae Anderson – Ulladulla High School – Business Services
• Nataya Currie-Ritchie – Five Islands Secondary College (Port Kembla) – Commercial Cookery
• Mitchell Baird – Mt Carmel Catholic High School (Varroville) / Campbelltown TAFE College – Construction
• Jake Clayton – Wagga Wagga High School / Wagga Wagga TAFE College – Electrotechnology
• Amy Pittman – Hunter Sports High School (Gateshead) – Food & Beverage
• Benjamin Hicks – Canobolas Rural Technology High School (Orange) – Metals & Engineering
• Georgina Murdoch - Yanco Agricultural High School – Primary Industries
• Ebin Kunnummel – Denison College, Bathurst High Campus – Retail

BRONZE

• Alex Ramsay – Newman Senior Technical College (Port Macquarie) – Construction
• Georgia Westcott – Peak Hill Central School - Food & Beverage
• Alex Cormack – Armidale High School – Metals & Engineering
• Caleb Allen – Woodenbong Central School – Primary Industries
• Stephanie Po-Myat – St Johns Park High School – Retail

For the 2014 HSC over 23,000 students are enrolled in at least one VET course. The most popular are: Hospitality with over 8,300 students, Construction with over 3,500 students and Business Services with over 2,300 students.

For more information visit:
www.worldskills.org.au