Mohd Arif Hj Duraman competing in one of the tasks during the National Skills Competition. Picture: BT/Al-Haadi Abu Bakar
THE second phase of the Fifth National Skills Competition commenced yesterday, with six participants pitting their skills against one another in the Automobile Technology category.
The launching of the two-day competition for the Automobile Technology category was held at the Automotive Workshop Building at the Sultan Saiful Rijal Technical College.
The six tasks of which the participants are required to complete include engine tune up, suspension and steering, electrical system, brake system, engine mechanical and automatic transmission.
The participants take turns in completing each tasks. One single task is given a duration of two and a half hours to be completed before the participants move on to the next task.
The six participants involved two students from the Mechanical Training Centre, two from the Sultan Bolkiah Vocational School, one trainee from the Royal Brunei Armed Forces’ Land Technical Training Branch, and a staff from Boustead.
The participants are expected to complete their remaining three tasks today, whereas the results of the competition will be announced tomorrow.
Organised by the Ministry of Education’s Department of Technical Education, the Fifth National Skills Competition kicked off last Tuesday at various technical institutions in the Sultanate, with participants in the Cookery, Restaurant Service and Web Design Categories displaying their skills.
Naza Osman, a science teacher from Mechanical Training Centre, said all vocational and technical schools throughout the country are vying for top spots at the national level competition, as winners will represent their respective schools in the Asean Skills Competition to be held in Bangkok, Thailand.
“Being a mechanic is hard work alone, and the pressure builds up when you’re in a competition, when you are aware that you’re being assessed of what you are doing, and when a lot of people come to watch you perform your task,” said Mohd Arif Hj Duraman, one of the participants.
“Nevertheless, this competition is something I look forward to from the very beginning. I hope to represent Brunei for the upcoming Asean Skills Competition in Bangkok.”
“That’s like a leap frog for me, seeing that I am merely a Pre-National Diploma student while the rest of my competition already has the basic knowledge from their previous years in their respective technical institutions,” he said, adding that his only mechanic background came from his years of treating it as a hobby.
The judges assessing the participants comprised trainers from the Mechanical Training Centre, SVSB and the Jefri Bolkiah College of Engineering, as well as experts from local automobile companies.
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