Harvey’s Lewis Italiano prepares to represent WA in cabinetmaking at WorldSkills Australia contest in August

A young Harvey man’s skill for his chosen trade has earned him a call up to represent his State.

Lewis Italiano, 18, will head to Melbourne later this year to fly the flag for WA at the WorldSkills Australia National Championships after being recognised as the best training cabinetmaker in the region.

He said he was proud to have received the call up.

“I am very keen and honoured to be presenting WA,” Mr Italiano said.

He was chosen after competing in the South West heats at South Regional TAFE’s Bunbury campus in September last year.

Mr Italiano and three other local competitors were given plans for a vanity style unit and were tasked with making it.

He was judged to be the best of the four competitors and received the gold medal for the cabinetmaking category at a ceremony in Burswood in late November.

He is the sole person to represent WA in cabinetmaking at the tournament, with the top people from more than 30 trades and professions set to represent their State or territory at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre from August 17-19.

Mr Italiano is just more than a year into his three-and-a-half year apprenticeship with Dardanup’s Studio Milton while also attending South Regional TAFE’s Bunbury campus.

He said it was a natural choice after completing school.

“I had done a lot of woodwork in school and I really enjoyed it there, so that is sort of what I knew what I wanted to get into,” he said.

As for the future, Mr Italiano is taking it as it comes.

“I would like to finish my apprenticeship, get my qualifications and then see where it takes me,” he said.

The WorldSkills competitions work in a two-year cycle, with regional championships held one year and the national championships the other year.