Over three days, talented individuals from far and wide showcased their excellence in a range of skills, from beauty therapy to cookery and carpentry.

The competition was intense, as contestants from selected fields went head-to-head for the chance to represent Australia at the 44th WorldSkills Competition to be held in Abu Dhabi next year.

This year’s event reached a record of 514 competitors, 650 event officials and an international crowd of over 21,000 people.

Among those 514 contestants were six competitors from India, who participated in the fields of beauty therapy, fashion technology, mechatronics and web design and development, as part of a government education program.

Assistant Minister for Vocational Education and Skills, Karen Andrews congratulated all participants for their efforts.

“The competition was an outstanding platform to inspire and encourage young Australians to find out more about the immense array of career choices available through nationally recognised training,” Minister Andrews said.

“I was particularly proud to see so many women take home gold in traditionally male-dominated fields.”

One of those young women was 20-year-old Louise Azzopardi from Londonderry in New South Wales.

Not only was Louise the first female contestant to enter in the heavy vehicle mechanics category, she also made history by taking home the gold medal.

“The judges teased the boys a little bit saying that they should up their game because it’d be pretty embarrassing to lose to a girl, but all of the boys that I competed against were really good sports and it was great fun,” Louise said.

Louise grew up on a farm, and as the oldest child, she was often by her father’s side helping with daily tasks and repairing machinery on the property.

In high school Louise discovered her natural talent for design, and as she neared Year 10, she began to weigh up her two passions which seemed worlds apart: mechanics and clothing design.

Evidently, Louise went with the former and began her apprenticeship at 15 years of age.

Upon completing her apprenticeship earlier this year, Louise now works for a family-owned business, The Tractor Shop, dealing with “absolutely anything that comes in the driveway”, from tractors and farm machinery to cars and trucks.

Louise has inspired other girls hoping to enter into a typically male-dominated trade, not only by winning gold and beating the boys, but by simply entering and providing a female presence in her particular field.

“I know a lot of people get disheartened about how hard it is, but I’ve proven that you can make it through your apprenticeship and you can do really well," Louise said.

"I hope that other girls can see that they can do the same.”

For a full list of results and medallists, please visit the WorldSkills Australia website.