Adelaide will play host to the 2027 WorldSkills Australia National Championships and Skills Show, marking a major moment for South Australia’s growing reputation in the vocational education and training space. The announcement, made during the 2025 event’s closing ceremony in Brisbane, signals a busy few years ahead as preparations begin to welcome thousands of skilled competitors and their supporters to the city.
Set for June 2027, the national event will feature over 60 skills categories, bringing together apprentices, trainees, vocational students and industry experts from around the country. The numbers alone tell a strong story — a projected crowd of competitors, trainers, employers, spectators and industry players will arrive in Adelaide, giving the state not just a spike in visibility but also in credibility as a skills hub.
The National Championships will coincide with the Adelaide Careers and Employment Expo, giving the public a rare chance to witness high-level skills in real time, while also exploring employment and training pathways. With interactive demos, industry Q&As and the energy of live competition, it’s a window into what hands-on, high-quality training can offer.
Held every two years, the WorldSkills Australia National Championships is no ordinary careers fair. It’s the country’s largest celebration of vocational talent — and Adelaide is no stranger to rising stars. At the 2025 Brisbane event, South Australia walked away with three golds, eight silvers, five bronze medals and 11 certificates of excellence. Minister for Education, Training and Skills Blair Boyer was in Brisbane to cheer on Team SA and noted how far the state has come in just a few years.
The South Australian team competing in 2025 had grown almost tenfold since 2023, expanding from just seven competitors to 63. That kind of leap reflects more than recruitment — it’s about a shift in mindset, energy and pride around vocational careers. According to Minister Boyer, the planning for the Adelaide 2027 bid began during the 2024 international WorldSkills competition in Lyon, where he and then-opposition MP John Gardner made the case for South Australia’s bid — a rare moment of bipartisan support for skills development.
Minister Boyer said watching the international competition up close in France gave him a whole new appreciation of the impact these events can have. It wasn’t just about seeing world-class skills in action; it was the personal transformation he noticed in the young people involved. For many, this was their first time overseas, and the sense of team and validation was something powerful to witness.
He said that hosting the 2027 event was a vote of confidence in the training sector and a chance to inspire more South Australians to look into vocational careers. It’s not just construction and hospitality — competitions will span everything from manufacturing and IT to health services. Winners in 2027 will even go on to represent Australia at the international level in Japan the following year.
Cameron Baker, South Australian Skills Commissioner, said the event isn’t just about showing off skills — it’s about the energy and momentum that flows into the workforce long after the medals have been awarded. He said it highlights the role of industry and training providers in shaping future jobs and keeps the spotlight on innovation and opportunity in skills-based sectors.
For WorldSkills Australia CEO Trevor Schwenke, Adelaide made sense from the start. The city has long supported high standards in vocational education, and its infrastructure and community backing made it a strong contender. He said the event is a chance to build pride in skills-based work and raise the national conversation about training quality and real career outcomes.
Anthony Kittel, CEO of REDARC Electronics, echoed that sentiment. From his vantage point in advanced manufacturing, the link between strong skills and business success is obvious. For REDARC and other employers in high-tech and hands-on fields, the pipeline of skilled talent coming through events like WorldSkills is critical.
Kittel said competitions like these give young people a real-world platform to showcase their abilities, and they help bridge the gap between training and industry. It’s a practical step forward in solving workforce shortages, not just by drawing attention to trades, but by boosting their status in the wider economy.
That’s a point shared by Estha van der Linden, South Australian Head at the Ai Group. She said WorldSkills brings together education, employers and students in a rare way — one that sparks connections and creates momentum. She believes that by hosting the event, South Australia is sending a clear message that skills matter and investing in them helps everyone.
Across the board, the response to the Adelaide announcement has been enthusiastic. There’s pride in what has already been achieved and a sense of anticipation for what’s coming next. From young apprentices to seasoned employers, the 2027 event is shaping up as a genuine celebration of hands-on knowledge and technical creativity.
What’s often lost in conversations around work is the value of competence — of being able to do something well. WorldSkills, at its heart, brings that competence to centre stage. And in a world where buzzwords often take over, this competition returns the focus to capability, precision and purpose.
Adelaide 2027 isn’t just about medals. It’s about opening doors, changing narratives, and giving thousands of people — competitors and visitors alike — a tangible, motivating experience. For many young Australians, this could be the moment where everything clicks: where they see their skill as a strength, not just a qualification. That’s the kind of moment South Australia wants to build more of.
As planning ramps up for 2027, there’s no doubt the event will bring colour and energy to the city — but more than that, it’s likely to leave a lasting impact on the way skills are seen, valued and pursued across the country.
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