Bailey gold, Bailey silver = WorldSkills success

It’s Baileys all around! Medallists, that is.

Talented TAFE Queensland tradie students Bailey Rice and Bailey Loenneker were awarded gold and silver at the recent WorldSkills Australia National Championships in Melbourne.

Representing the Sunshine and Fraser Coasts, Bailey Rice and Bailey Loenneker were keen to showcase their winning motorcycle mechanic and refrigeration airconditioning skills and training respectively.

After months of preparation and hard work, both students were duly rewarded for their outstanding efforts at the hotly contested national event dubbed the skills’ ‘Olympics’.

Additionally, three students from TAFE Queensland’s Bundaberg and Nambour campuses achieved certificates of excellence in the engineering category of fitting, metals and welding.

As the lone Queenslander competing in the motorcycle mechanics category, Bailey Rice demonstrated his superior problem solving and engine building skills with Kawasaki motorbikes and was awarded a near perfect score by the judges.

“I competed at WorldSkills in 2021 and having placed second in this category then, I really wanted to improve and challenge myself by going one better this time around,” Bailey Rice said.

“I was really pushed outside of my comfort zone this time but I’m absolutely stoked I was able to bring home the gold this year, especially for doing something I love!”

Bailey Loenneker was equally able to apply his excellent fault finding and building skills by impressing the judges with the storage box he built and which had to be kept cool at a certain temperature.

“As a first-time competitor, I honestly didn’t know what to expect except to give it my best shot,” Bailey Loenneker said.

“And I have to say, I could not be happier with the results but the highlight for me really was being able to mix and compete with like-minded people – that was definitely a buzz!”

While Bailey Rice is riding high after graduating with a Certificate III in Motorcycle Mechanical Technology AUR30820 from TAFE Queensland’s Hervey Bay campus earlier this year, Bailey Loenneker is training for his Certificate III in Air Conditioning and Refrigeration at TAFE Queensland’s Nambour campus.

Jody Ridgeway, TAFE Queensland East Coast region’s Faculty Director of Construction Trades and Building Services, said she was extremely happy about not only both Baileys’ success but also with the efforts of the other TAFE Queensland East Coast students who travelled down to Melbourne to compete at this year’s WorldSkills National Championships.

“I am very proud of both Baileys’ incredible wins as well as our other students and if I had my way, they would have all been taking home medals,” Jody said.

“WorldSkills not only provides an excellent platform to showcase the skills and talent of TAFE Queensland students but also enables them to compete with the country’s best and brightest tradespeople and apprentices.

“Our trades students receive high-quality, industry-relevant training that’s delivered by highly experienced and supportive teachers and now through WorldSkills, they’ve been given an opportunity to represent their craft and put their individual skills to the test, bench marking themselves against others across the country which further drives skills excellence.”

Find out more about TAFE Queensland’s electrical, engineering and other trades courses by going to https://tafeqld.edu.au/ or call 1300 308 233 for more information.