Alcoan earns title as 2021 WorldSkills Australia National Champion

At Alcoa, we're proud to help equip the next generation of talent. It's what we do and aligns with our Purpose to "Turn Raw Potential into Real Progress."

A 2019 graduate from Alcoa Wagerup Refinery's apprentice program, Brody Stallard, showcased his expertise in competitions across Western Australia. In 2019, he scored gold during the Western Australia regional WorldSkills competition and hasn't stopped. The welding expert competed again to win the coveted national crown at the 2021 WorldSkills Australia National Championship. The event is the largest skills based competition in Australia with selected regional entrants from around the country showcasing their skills and competing against industry peers.

Based at our Wagerup refinery in Western Australia, he said he felt a lot of time pressure over the three-day event, where he had to perform welds on different metals for around five hours each day.

His secret? If you ask Brody, you'll likely hear him describe tireless practice and hard work. Committed to performing well, he could be found working on his days off or at home practicing in his shed.

“We were given a long list of the types of welds we might be asked to perform ahead of the competition, so I practiced a lot as I was really keen to win,” Brody Stallard said. “I didn’t have much experience welding aluminum - which involves a totally different technique to stainless steel - so I bought my own welder to practice in my own time. Welding aluminum actually ended up being one of my strengths in the competition, so a lot of hard work and dedication paid off."

Restricted and delayed due to COVID-19, Brody competed at the Perth Convention Exhibition Centre in August 2021 while other entrants competed from their home states. All the welds were then sent to New South Wales to be scrutinized with x-rays and stress tested by the judges. 

“I just like the challenge of making really nice welds. I’m a bit of a perfectionist, and I try to make every weld better than the last. I love it - it’s my passion really,” Brody said. “I would like to give a special thank you to everyone who has given me help and support along the way. I couldn’t have done it without them."

The awards have been part of Brody's career since beginning his apprenticeship with Alcoa. He's been recognized as a gold medalist at the WA World Skills regional welding competition; Alcoa's apprentice of the year in 2019; South regional TAFE apprentice of the year and engineering apprentice of the year, among others.

“I set myself the goal and really worked towards it, and I hope this encourages other apprentices to participate in these types of competitions and try their best,” he encouraged.