Paint & Panel caught up with the pair at Sydney Automotive Paint and Equipment’s Condell Park headquarters, where some of the companies that have supported their training gathered to give them a send-off.
Shedden, from Parramatta Smash Repairs, will represent Australia in car painting, while Richards, from Sydney Classic Car Restorations, will compete in autobody repair. They are part of the Australian team heading to Shanghai for the competition, which runs from 22–27 September and will bring together more than 1,400 competitors from over 70 countries and regions.
WorldSkills Australia general manager Bridget Collins describes WorldSkills as “a little bit like the Olympics in skills and trades”, with competitions beginning at regional level before progressing to national and ultimately international level.
Shedden’s journey started at TAFE, when teacher Carl Tinsley encouraged him to enter his regional WorldSkills competition. He won there before taking bronze at the national championships and earning selection for Shanghai. Since then preparation has included training with Glasurit and 3M, as well as nights at TAFE after work.
Richards won both his regional competition and the national championships, but his day job in classic car restoration meant his preparation for international autobody repair competition had to cover plenty of new ground.
WorldSkills autobody repair expert Cameron Killen says Richards has had to broaden his skills into areas including frame rail replacement, panel adhesives and modern repair methods, with training taking him around Australia and to Taiwan for WorldSkills Asia. “I definitely didn’t expect it,” Richards says of where WorldSkills has taken him (he'd never been on a plane before). “It’s been awesome.”
Both competitors got a taste of what awaits them at the recent Global Skills Challenge in Wollongong, where competitors from 15 countries took part in four days of competition. Shedden won car painting and Richards finished second in autobody repair, while Australia topped the overall medal table.
Richards will also be Australia’s first international autobody repair competitor since 2013, something Killen says highlights how difficult it can be to find the right young technician, at the right age, with an employer able to support the considerable training commitment required.
Industry support has been a major part of both competitors’ preparation, including companies that would normally be commercial rivals sharing their expertise.
WorldSkills vehicle painting expert Paul Polverino summed it up nicely: “We dropped the weapons at the front door. Let’s just do the right thing by the kids, and let’s get them trained the best way we can.”
For Polverino, the payoff for employers who support WorldSkills competitors extends well beyond their technical training.
“What I have seen is the growth in these kids that go away and come back, their communication skills, their networking skills,” he says.
The pair now have a few more weeks of training before heading to Shanghai to find out how Australia’s collision repair skills measure up on the world stage.