Students compete and meet Prime Minister at WorldSkills Training Camp in Canberra

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Students compete and meet Prime Minister at WorldSkills Training Camp in Canberra

RMIT has had an outstanding year in the 2025 national WorldSkills competition. Hear from Askel Van Gastel-Peck and Rajeev Jawaji who were a part of the RMIT group who won gold and recently returned from the WorldSkills training camp in Canberra.

Group of people standing outside parliament house smiling

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Hon Andrew Giles MP, and Former federal Minister and RMIT Professor of Practice, Workforce Skills & Innovation, The Hon. Brendan O’Connor with the Skillaroos

It’s been a year to remember for RMIT’s Skillaroo representatives Askel Van Gastel-Peck and Rajeev Jawaji who have recently returned to Melbourne following the WorldSkills Training camp in Canberra. Rajeev and Askel were two of three first-place winners from the nationals WorldSkills competition, along with Sonny Hull who earnt gold for cloud computing.

The students were engaged in hands-on skill development while exploring important cultural sites including the Australian War Memorial and Parliament House and had the chance to meet the Australian Prime Minister, Hon Anthony Albanese MP.

“We were all really excited to meet the ministers, and of course the Prime Minister… like really excited,” recounted Rajeev Jawaji, gold medallist at Nationals in Web Design and Development.

“It was the most interesting opportunity, I didn’t really think I’d ever have the chance to go to Canberra and visit inside Parliament House, let alone meet the Prime Minister!”

Group of people standing outside talking

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Hon Andrew Giles MP stand next to Rajeev Jawaji and Former federal Minister and Professor of Practice, Workforce Skills & Innovation The Hon. Brendan O’Connor

The winning students from across the nation attended the WorldSkills camp in Canberra; a chance to meet, learn and prepare for what comes next in their journey to represent Australia in Shanghai for the 2026 Internationals.

“We had lots of team building exercises and had the chance to talk with our experts one-on-one to develop a training plan for next year,” said Askel Van Gastel-Peck, gold medallist for Additive Manufacturing.

Minister for Skills and Training, the Hon Andrew Giles MP and RMIT's new Professor of Practice, Brendan O’Connor, were also there to meet the Skillaroos and took the chance to chat with them about their competitions and study while at Parliament House.

These connections and experiences highlight the vital role of vocational education, WorldSkills and the value placed on our students’ skills and dedication.

Askel couldn't believe the size of the competition and how many people had come to watch. He also loved the opportunity to meet other competitors, to learn about their trade and what was involved in their competition.

“I think about 30,000 people attended over the three days! We were given a task which we had three eight-hour periods to complete, and we weren't allowed to use the internet or talk to anyone during this time.”

“I wasn't super confident that I was going to do well but I put in a lot of practice leading up to the national competition and managed to get the gold medal.”

Two people smiling at camera

Aksel Van Gastel-Peck and his teacher Vetri Chinnadurai in Canberra for Additive Manufacturing.

The WorldSkills experience has completely transformed Rajeev's life over the past year saying, “WorldSkills has changed everything for me”.

During his VE pathway towards a goal to study a bachelors in IT, his WorldSkills success has opened doors for employment and freedom to choose what he’d like to do within his career.

“Because of WorldSkills I actually got a lot of job offers in coding for freelancing, and I did accept one. It’s given me a lot of great experience.”

Two people smiling at camera

Rajeev Jawaji and his teacher Smita Jhajharia, in Canberra for Web Technologies.

Regional WorldSkills competitions are continuing into next year for a range of VE courses, speak to your teacher for information about upcoming events and how you can get involved.

14 October 2025

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