Emma Pritchard

Following their recent success at the 2023 WorldSkills Australia National Championships held between August 17-19 at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, Joel Moss, owner of Forbes Smash Repairs in South Grafton, isn’t letting his star employees Tim Hall and Dylan Cleaver go anywhere after they both achieved outstanding results in their respective categories.

Mr Hall, 20, finished amongst the top five in the Autobody Repairs category while Mr Cleaver, 23, brought home the gold medal after placing first in the Automotive Refinishing (spray painting) category.

Describing both men as very professional and not afraid to give any job a go, Mr Moss said they are terrific examples of the emerging talent across the local area.

“Tim’s been with the business for four years, and Dylan for six years, and there’s not a chance in hell I’m letting them go,” he said good naturedly.

“I’m really proud of them.”

Mr Hall, who holds a Certificate III in Auto Body Repair, revealed he was “pretty confident” prior to the event and impressed the judges with his precision and attention to detail as he completed a filler repair on a door, and repaired panel damage on a guard during the competition.

“I was happy with all the work I produced,” he said.

“But just being there and competing at that level was an honour.

“I love what I do, and there’s a lot of satisfaction I feel when I get into a car after it’s been straightened out and painted.”

As the son of a widely respected Grafton mechanic, Mr Cleaver always wanted to pursue a career with cars.

Reflecting on his gold medal performance, he revealed he would like to continue specialising in automotive refinishing and has previously completed a Certificate III in Automotive Repair.

“At WorldSkills, the judges were looking at everything from checking we had the right personal protective equipment, our techniques, the application of products and how they’re used, and we also did some buffing and polishing which had to be up to industry standard,” he explained.

“I was over the moon when my name was announced as the winner.

“The whole competition was a great experience.”

• The Clarence Valley was well represented at the 2023 WorldSkills Australia National Championships with aspiring pastry chef Lestatt Hammond-Hurst from Glenreagh winning a silver medal in the Baking category. The Clarence Valley Independent will be sharing Mr Hammond-Hursts feats with our readers in next week’s edition.