Scagnetti works at his family business, Scagnetti Jewellers, in Cottesloe, which was started by his father in 1988. He won gold in the Jewellery Manufacture category from a field of nine competitors, with Geelong’s Amy Kennedy taking silver and Leederville’s Erin Thomson bronze.
Both Scagnetti and Thomson attend Central Institute of Technology in Perth, which is proving to be a good breeding ground for highly skilled young jewellers, having previously produced last year’s international competitor, Natalee Hibbins.
CIT lecturer Peter Keep, who is also a regional facilitator and national judge for the Worldskills competition, said while their training should have helped prepare them for the competition, the nature of executing those skills under the pressure of being judged was a real test for most competitors.
“All Worldskills competitors should feel proud of what they have achieved,” Keep said. “The competition highlights the dedication and passion that our young apprentices have for their craft. The preparatory projects and competitive atmosphere we have here in the CIT jewellery studios prepared them well for Worldskills, but the pressure of competition can be quite daunting, and that’s something they have to deal with themselves.”
The nine competitors in the Jewellery Manufacture category were given three days to complete a complex pendant made up of three modules which had to fit together on the final day and meet all other judging criteria.
The win means Scagnetti is eligible to compete at the 42nd WorldSkills International Competition in Leipzig, Germany in July 2013, however he must first make the Australian team, the Skillaroos.
“As yet Worldskills has not named the Skillaroo team, although I am confident he [Scagnetti] will go to Germany, the official team will be named at the end of October,” Keep said. “Tayron’s commitment to compete at an international level is outstanding and he is right now busy completing tests to help qualify him to represent Australia and the jewellery industry.”
Scagnetti first started working on the jewellery bench at the age of 14 before getting more seriously involved in it at 16. Five years later he said he is excited by the win and keen to use it to help grow his family’s business.
“I just want to become really good in my industry, expand the business and maybe one day even open another store,” Scagnetti said. “Winning this award gives me a bit of a heads up, it gives me more experience in my trade. It is all about being precise and having those really precise skills leads into the design side of what we do.”
He said the level of competition at the Nationals was totally different to at the regionals, but when he put down his finished piece he felt confident of at least being in the top three.
“I knew that I would have placed, but I wasn’t sure how high because I couldn’t see the other people’s finished pieces. When they were all displayed together I was more confident.”