Skill Hire, MPA Skills celebrate apprentices’ success at WA WorldSkills Championships

MPA Skills (soon to be renamed as NextGen Skills) and Skill Hire (both part of the IntoWork Group) are delighted to celebrate the achievements of three exceptional apprentices who shone at the Western Australia WorldSkills Championships.

The WorldSkills Championships provide young tradespeople with a platform to demonstrate their skills and compete against the best in their fields, tackling real-world trade challenges within tight timeframes.

This year, MPA Skills apprentices Keegan Ingham and Samuel Cain, along with Skill Hire’s third-year apprentice Dylan Foster, proved their mettle, bringing home two gold medals and one bronze.

Keegan and Samuel, who won gold in the regional competition, are aspiring to go to the National Competition in June 2025, representing Perth North and Perth South respectively.

Samuel, now a full-time tradesman at Impulse Plumbing, shared his excitement. “It’s a big honour and something really good to put on the resume. The competition is not just physical but more on the mental side, showing you have initiative and experience behind the trade.”

“It will be interesting to see how other states handle plumbing, as while we all operate under the same national standards, each state has its own specific codes and regulations.”

The 23-year-old Beckenham man was inspired to start plumbing from his grandfather. “He was a drainer, he showed me that being a plumber was more than just toilets and changing up tap washers,” he said.

Keegan, now employed full-time by Snap Plumbing, said he was excited to represent WA for his industry, and ‘show people what plumbers are capable of”. “I chose plumbing to do something different in my family. We have electricians, carpenters, but no plumbers. It’s a job I truly enjoy.”

Keegan said training through MPA Skills made his decision easy. “MPA Skills were very reliable. If I didn’t like a certain job or a certain company for whatever reason, or whether I wanted to just change the sort of industry I was in within plumbing, they would be happy to accommodate and find me somewhere that I would enjoy working in most.”

Dylan Foster, a third-year boilermaker and welder apprentice with Skill Hire, clinched the bronze medal. Employed by Civmec, Dylan’s impressive welding skills and commitment to his craft earned him this recognition. Dylan, who started his trade in 2021, discovered a natural talent for welding during the competition.

“I was quite surprised myself because boiler making was my primary trade. My lecturer said I should do the competition, and I did it and it turns out I’m quite good at welding,” he said.

His advice to other tradies is straight forward. “I would tell people to give it a go and stick it out because it gets hard before it gets easier,” he said.

Ben Dahlstrom, CEO of Skill Hire and MPA Skills, praised the apprentices’ success, “The achievements of Dylan, Keegan, and Samuel reflect our dedication to delivering high-quality training and nurturing excellence. We are incredibly proud of them and look forward to Sam and Keegan’s performance at the national level.”

MPA Skills and Skill Hire are prominent providers of vocational training and employment services, committed to empowering individuals and businesses through superior education and support.

The apprentices were honoured at a medal presentation ceremony on November 15.

From Jan 1, MPA Skills will be rebranded to NextGen Skills. This exciting evolution follows MPA Skills joining the IntoWork Group and is a significant step in positioning the organisation for the future.

With a proud history spanning over four decades, MPA Skills has been a leading provider of training and employment for apprentices in the plumbing and painting industries.