A BORDER plumber has shot to the top of his trade.
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Wodonga plumbing apprentice Max Tittensor won his regional section of the WorldSkills Competition which was held at Shepparton recently.
Mr Tittensor is employed by ATEL Employment Services in Wodonga and his host employer is Phil Gosbell from Gosbell Plumbing in Wodonga.
Mr Tittensor, 19, competed against apprentices from Wangaratta, Shepparton and Bendigo and surrounds.
The third-year apprentice said he didn’t go into the competition with any expectations.
“I was surprised to win it,” he said.
“I didn’t think much about my chances; I just thought I’d give it a crack.”
The former Catholic College Wodonga student said about 10 trainees entered the competition at Shepparton GOTAFE.
Mr Tittensor was the highest scorer from competitions held in both Shepparton and Bendigo.
“We had a task of making up pipework using four different types of materials,” he said.
“We had to join and bend copper to specified measurements.
“We had four hours to do the task.”
Mr Tittensor is now eligible for selection to attend the WorldSkills Australia national competition, which is Australia’s biggest vocational education and excellence competition in Sydney during 2018.
WorldSkills Australia promotes and builds a skills-based culture, celebrates excellence and showcases vocational education and training, trades and apprenticeships.
Mr Tittensor said he really enjoyed his work under Phil Gosbell.
“Every day is a different challenge,” he said.
“It’s a small team so I’m not locked into one thing every day.
“We work in Albury-Wodonga but there’s a fair bit of travel too.”
ATEL Employment Services employee mentor Jayne Haddrick welcomed Mr Tittensor’s result in the WorldSkills round.
“This is a major achievement for Max and his host Phil Gosbell and shows the high quality and standard of the apprentices we have in this region,” she said.
“Max won the competition in a record time with a score of 90.5 out of a possible 100.
“We are all very proud of Max and what he has achieved in his apprenticeship so far with great assistance and guidance provided by Phil Gosbell and GOTAFE Wangaratta.”
Mr Tittensor was presented with his gold medal and plaque from a representative of WorldSkills Australia at ATEL Employment Services in Wodonga on Tuesday.