Murray Bridge cookery student wins bronze at Worldskills regionals
Murray Bridge High School’s Gabby Seidel is one of south east SA’s best at what she does.
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Gabby Seidel would like to own her own cafe one day.
“I dunno, I just really like my cooking,” she says.
It’s early days yet, but the year 11 student is one step closer to proving she’s got what it takes.
Last Wednesday she won a bronze medal at a regional Worldskills competition, where vocational education students from different schools challenged each other in their areas of expertise.
Gabby, studying a Certificate II in Cookery, found herself competing against students from the Riverland and South East on home turf at Murray Bridge High School.
Ordinarily, during a lesson, a teacher would guide the class through a recipe and help them understand each step along the way.
On this stage, though, she had to work things out for herself.
“We weren’t told what to make, we were just given the ingredients,” she said.
“I had to prepare a warm chicken salad and a choux pastry dessert – I made eclairs with pastry, cream and custard.
“It was nice to be able to be a bit more creative.”
Gabby was the only local medallist at the competition, which also included food and beverage service, electrotechnology, health care assistance, carpentry and hairdressing.
But the others represented their trades, and their school, with pride.
State Training, Education and Skills Minister Blair Boyer suggested the “Olympics of skills” was all about showing that the trades were attractive career options.
That was important in South Australia at the moment, he said – the state would need an extra 90,000 skilled workers over the next five years.
“The competitions at Murray Bridge can help country students explore a wider range of school pathways and are an opportunity to showcase the government’s commitment to regional education,” he said.
More than 30 regional Worldskills competitions are held around Australia each year for VET students, apprentices and young professionals.
The winners are invited to the nationals, which will be held in Brisbane in June 2025; and some adult competitors may progress to an international championship in Beijing in 2026.
The local leg of the competition was staged across the high school and Murray Bridge’s TAFE campus.
