Mr Sawers received the gold medal in the turning category for his lathe work, being one of five TAFE Illawarra team members to return from Perth with a gold medal.

The 22-year-old, who works at CSS Engineering in South Nowra, will now be part of the Australian team for the World Skills International Competition in Brazil next year.

"I was quietly confident going into the competition, but it was still a bit of a surprise to win and, to be completely honest, it hasn't really sunk in yet," Mr Sawers said. "It's all been pretty exciting. To make it to the nationals I had to win the regional competition, and now to win the gold and to get to go to Brazil is amazing."

To win gold, Mr Sawers had to use a lathe to turn pieces of metal into components that could be put together.

"We had to make a series of components that could then be joined together by a thread.

"That was then examined by the judges and they thought mine was the best, I guess.

"It's the kind of stuff I do at work, but I also did a bit of extra training and I'll probably do a bit more as well before Brazil."

Gerringong's Jasmine Gardner was also a member of the Illawarra team, competing in the hairdressing category, but did not place.

TAFE Illawarra's institute director Dianne Murray said the results of the Illawarra competitors was a testament to their skills and the training offered.