3 October 2006

Two NZ Army personnel may be heading to Japan next year to pit their trade skills against the best in the world, after taking gold medals in New Zealand finals of SkillEX.

Nine NZ Army personnel competed in the national finals of SkillEX 2006, which were held at the Wellington Institute of Technology in Petone in late September.

SkillEX is a trade competition for people under 22 years old. With the materials provided, competitors must complete a set project to time. The best score takes gold.

After three intense days of competition, six NZ Army personnel walked away with awards: Lance Corporal Josh Comerford took a gold in Restaurant Service; Sapper Luke Boustridge took a joint gold in Electrical Wiring; Private Aroha Maidens took a joint silver in Restaurant Service; Private Bernard Dudli took a silver in Welding; and Lance Corporal James Kirkland and Private Leighton Hamlin took bronze awards in Automotive Technology. 

NZDF regional coordinator, Dana Arcus, described the results as “awesome”. “We only had nine competitors across seven trades, and of those seven trades we got six medals, so we did really well”, she said.

She praised the efforts of all the competitors, making special mention of RNZE’s SPR Luke Boustridge “very enthusiastic, exceptionally fast and hard working; very accurate but very fast, very quick”, and TRSB’s PTE Aroha Maidens, who has only been in the Army for a year and shows “real flair”. PTE Maidens also demonstrated her skills to a national audience last week when she featured on the TV One’s Good Morning show, alongside LCPL Comerford.

PTE Maidens described SkillEX as a challenge, but excellent preparation for her next competition: the Auckland Culinary Fair, 8 to 10 October. “I had fun and I learnt a lot from it. I definitely recommend it to other people, it was a good experience; anybody who is thinking about doing it should get out and do it.”

Along with the competitors taking part, there were many other NZDF uniforms to be spotted around the venue. NZDF provided judges for each category we had entrants.

Trentham Regional Support Battalion assisted with transportation, 5 Movements Company travelled down from Linton to assist with tasks such as setting up and packing down, and many other NZDF supporters from around the Wellington region came out to support their colleagues.

Chief of the Defence Force, LT GEN Jerry Mateparae; the Chief of Army, MAJ GEN Lou Gardiner; Deputy Chief of Army, BRIG Barry Vryenhoek; the Land Component Commander, BRIG Phil Gibbons, and the Warrant Officer of the Defence Force, WO1 John Barclay, each visited the competitors during the three days of competition.

SkillEX also welcomed members of the public, and about 900 students from 24 schools visited the event. Recruiters from the NZ Army, RNZAF and RNZN were at SkillEX to talk to the students about trade opportunities within the NZDF. The recruiters commented that the “expo” was successful as students enjoyed the opportunity to be able to talk to the young soldiers in the trade, who were great ambassadors for their trade and the Army.

During the next few months, it will be decided whether LCPL Comerford or SPR Boustridge will become ambassadors for New Zealand at the 39th WorldSkills Competition. Youth Skills New Zealand, which runs SkillEX, will review competitors’ results, skill categories and the criteria, and select a team to represent New Zealand at the biennial WorldSkills competition, to be held in Numazu City, Shizuoka, Japan, 14 to 21 November. More than 700 young people from 45 member countries will test themselves against tough international standards in 40 skill categories. More than 100,000 visitors are expected to attend the competition.

Ms Arcus says she would like to thank everyone who has supported her and the competitors this year. “We have had a really exceptional year as far as support goes. 5 Movements Company at Linton were exceptional in their efforts and represented NZDF very well; I got a lot of great comments about them”, she says, also adding her appreciation of the efforts of TRSB, who provided transport for the civilians, and the judges and coordinators who assisted with the event.

Top medic 

Lance Corporal Kelly Whittle, from the Burnham Medical Treatment Centre, was recently adjudged the winner of the prestigious "Kidman" trophy, awarded annually to the top Royal New Zealand Army Medical Corps junior non-commissioned officer.

The selection criteria were exhaustive. They encompassed an assessment of the participants’ trade skills, a display of leadership initiatives, suitable role modelling and the maintenance of high performance standards expected from a junior NCO.

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