First declared in 1970, Earth Day is now an annual event celebrated on April 22 around the world to support and promote environmental protection. In the WorldSkills community, some former contestants share their views on how trade skills have a role to play in saving the planet.

Severe drought is a periodic scourge in Australia. WorldSkills champion Clinton Larkings knows all about that. He comes from a dry inland region in the state of New South Wales.

“In New South Wales, we have to be careful of our water usage,” he said. “We just lived through one of the worst prolonged droughts on record. Water restrictions were imposed to keep usage at a minimum.

Larkings was a 2019 WorldSkills Kazan champion and Sustainability Award winner in the category of Industrial Mechanic Millwright.

He currently works as a fitter and turner at a repair machine shop, where he and other staff fix, repair and manufacture new parts for a wide range of industries, including agriculture, manufacturing and mining.

His work is heavily involved in installation and maintenance of industrial equipment. Larkings has implemented eco-friendly practices in his workshop, including waste management and material disposal. 

“We recycle what we can whenever possible,” said Larkings, who calls his skill a “jack of all trades.”

“For example,” he explained, “we recycle our steel waste to a local scrap metal company and collect all oil waste oil to be send away for recycling. When we use materials like steel, bronze, aluminum and nylon, we try to use as little as possible to reduce unnecessary waste.”