She will represent the country in the restaurant category in the WorldSkills International Competition, taking place in August 2015 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. This is the first year that South Africa will be competing in this competition, and it’s a first for Africa.
 
WorldSkills International serves as the global hub for skills development and excellence. South Africa only joined as one of the 72 member countries in April 2013, and WSSA was officially launched by Mduduzi Manana, the deputy minister of Higher Education and Training.
 
The organisation connects the youth, industries and educators to help the future skills force to compete, experience, and learn how to become the best in their skill of choice. There are 36 different skill categories ranging from traditional trades to multi-skilled technology careers in the industry and service sectors. The broad categories of the competition include; creative arts, IT and communication, social services, manufacturing and engineering, construction and building and transportation and logistics.
 
Based in Cape Town, Newton is currently in her second year of studies at IHS and entered the free, five-day national competition for social services – restaurant service. This took place at the Cape Town Convention Centre in January 2015 and attracted an audience of approximately 10 000 people. She was one of two IHS students in the top three for her category. Asgarai Abdullah from Durban was the other contender.
 
A handful of IHS candidates have competed at the WSSA National Competition twice previously, not as part of an official South African team, but in a private capacity with Thomas Overback of the South African Chefs Association (SACA). This is the first year that South Africa will formally be sending a team in multiple categories to the International competition sponsored by the government.
 
WSSA aims to inspire talented and committed, young South Africans to pursue their interest of technical and artisan careers. The WSSA competitions are designed by industry experts to cover a range of critical technical skills, plus qualities valued by employers, such as teamwork, time management and meeting of deadlines.
 
Recounting her experience, Newton said, “I met so many talented people and learned so much through this experience. I was evaluated on several tasks, including wine and spirit identification, silver service, fine dining, cocktail making and flaring, banqueting, wine decanting, creating 10 different serviette folds and fruit carving etc. Also, our manners, cleanliness, courtesy and professionalism were all taken into account. It was intense and I was definitely put through my paces.”
 
For the next six months, Newton will participate in a Team SA Preparation Programme to help her build on her skill areas before competing against the rest of the world for the international title.
 
IHS marketing manager, Ruth Paulsen is proud of Newton. She says, “our school is founded on a philosophy to provide world-class knowledge and skills, while nurturing creativity and building entrepreneurial spirit to create hospitality excellence. Newton’s achievement is testament to this and we’re delighted to see her grow and succeed in a field that she’s so passionate about. It’s a wonderful opportunity and we’ll support her as much as possible.”

For more information on the International Hotel School, visit www.hotelschool.co.za.

The Worldskills International Competition will take place in Sao Paulo, Brazil from Tuesday, 11 to Sunday, 16 August. For more information, visit www.worldskillssaopaulo2015.com.