The international biennial event sees more than 45 countries compete in 47 trade categories and as the gold medal winner of the national WorldSkills New Zealand 2006 competition Kieran will now compete against his international peers in the offset print category.
To prepare for his challenge 22 year old Kieran, who works at Logick Print & Graphics in Auckland, has also gained skills on the Polar guillotine which will be used in the finals.
As for his press experience, it has been nothing but the best for Kieran. While the press model in Japan is the larger PM74 Kieran has had the advantage of working on the PM52 producing Inky Fingers. To gain experience on a larger press Kieran has put time in at Plan & Print, a Heidelberg customer, where he has trained on the Speedmaster 74.
Heather Leftus, who co-ordinated the SkillEx project on behalf of PrintNZ likens WorldSkills to the Olympics, but for trades. She believes the event benefits the whole industry raising its profile in the broader community and setting a benchmark in standards and work practices that are beneficial to the individual and employer.
She praises the commitment Kieran has demonstrated and the support of industry in particular PrintNZ member company Heidelberg for providing Kieran with the opportunity to become proficient in the use of the equipment. "You couldn't put a dollar value on Heidelberg's support," says Heather. "Being able to work with technology similar to what he will encounter in Japan enables us to send Kieran away in the best possible position."
Glenn Plummer General Manager Product Management & Marketing, Heidelberg Australia & New Zealand says the support the company has shown Kieran is part of Heidelberg's mandate to assist apprentices to reach their potential. "We commit each year to holding a range of courses for apprentices in our showroom to enable them to work with the latest technology."
In conclusion Heather says: "Kieran's involvement in the Worldskills competition was only made possible with support from the industry and sponsorship from industry partners BJ Ball Papers, Trust4Skills and PrintNZ Training. Everyone wishes Kieran all the best in Japan, but in our eyes he is already a winner."
