Bullaburra freelance web developer Harlan Wilton took on some of the world's best at the 2015 Worldskills international final held in Sao Paulo, Brazil earlier this month and rose to the challenge, winning a silver medal in web design.
The 21-year-old, who completed his Diploma of Web Design at Blue Mountains College of TAFE's Wentworth Falls campus in 2014, was part of Australia's 26-strong Worldskills team which won a total of three silvers and two bronzes.
The competition saw 1000 competitors, representing 63 countries, demonstrate their skills in Sao Paulo in a variety of trades.
Mr Wilton said the final involved a hectic schedule, with eight different modules of web development including design, javascript and front-end to complete in four days of competition.
"The modules required you to be very well-rounded and I believe this was one of the reasons I did well - I'd trained for all modules equally," he said.
"Also, the amount of time I put into training and the type of training I got from Jarrad Langdon (instructor) helped.
"This is my biggest achievement to date - it's the first (international) competition I've gone in that tests my skills.
"The highlights of the experience were representing Australia and the Western Sydney region, making new international friends that I was competing against and partying after the competition with the Australian team.
"Being able to fly over to Sao Paulo was really awesome too, being introduced to a whole new culture."
WorldSkills Australia CEO Mark Callaghan congratulated the Australian team members for their hard work and dedication.
"They are excellent ambassadors for their respective industries and we hope their achievements serve to show other young people that vocational education and training pathways are viable first choice career options."
Regional competitions are now under way across Australia, forming the beginning of the qualification process for the next Wordskills international final in 2017.
For more information, visit www.worldskills.org.au.
In September, Blue Mountains college of TAFE will run regional competitions for web design and programming.
Entries are open to anyone under 23.
