Compete in Worldskills, public urged

THE Department of Technical Education (DTE) is inviting citizens and permanent residents aged 22 or below by 2012 (those born after January 1, 1990) to participate in the Sixth Worldskills Brunei Darussalam national competition from February 6 to 9.

The Worldskills Brunei Darussalam is an entity representing DTE, which aims to promote the importance of technical and vocational skills in the country. Outstanding participants in the competition will be nominated to represent Brunei at the upcoming Ninth Skills Competition in Jakarta in 2012.

"According to our action plan, we are targeting to increase our participants's achievements by 40 per cent at the Asean skills competition, and Insya Allah, we are hoping to bag four medals in Jakarta," Acting Director Hj Mohd Sharifuddin Hj Mohd Salleh, who is also the Chairperson of the Executive Committee for Worldskills Brunei Darussalam said yesterday at a press conference.

He explained that such competitions are important for the participants as they provide opportunities for them not only to compete outside Brunei, but also to give them an exposure to new technology. "We encourage the public and adventurous students from high schools and vocational and technical education institutions to take part in the competition," he said. Hj Mohd Sharifuddin yesterday launched the Worldskills Brunei Darussalam website, which coincides with the opening of the registration for entrance to the national competition.

The 14 disciplines included in the competition are cooking, restaurant service, mechanical engineering design (Cad), IT software solution for business, web design, refrigeration and air conditioning, electrical installations, plumbing and heating, ladies' or men's hairdressing, bricklaying, cabinet-making, welding, fashion technology and automobile technology. The competitions will be held at the technical and vocational education institutions comprising the Sultan Saiful Rijal Technical College (MTSSR), the Jefri Bolkiah College of Engineering, Nakhoda Ragam Vocational School, the Sultan Bolkiah Vocational School and Mechanical Training Centre.

DTE officials yesterday said the participants must register online at their official website dte.edu.bn/wsbd/index.php.

Co-chairman of the competition's technical committee Lim Kian Boon said that each participant must also submit his or her trainer or instructor's name during registration, who will then become a member of the Jury Panel for the skill area concerned.

For further enquiries, interested participants may contact Lim at 2425393 or email wsbd@dte.edu.bn.

The Brunei Times