NZ’s Top Aircraft Maintenance Talent Celebrated
Jack Elvy – first place, soaking up the competition pressure
Left to right: Michael Naus – Competitions Manager, Top placegetters – Tim Duncan – third place, Jack Elvy – first place, Kaleb Bentham – second place, Trevor Taylor – Board Chair
19 November 2025
What a phenomenal two days it has been at the 2025 WorldSkills New Zealand Aircraft Maintenance Competition! Nine of Aotearoa’s brightest young aircraft maintenance engineers and trainees put their skills to the test under the eagle eyes of our industry expert judges at the Air Force Museum of New Zealand in Wigram. Time-trials, documentation modules, structure fabrication, engine repair, borescope inspections, they tackled it with focus, grit and professionalism. Outstanding effort from every one of them.
And now our champions have emerged!
Gold goes to Jack Elvy (24), Christchurch aircraft engineer trainee with Air New Zealand Christchurch, officially crowned New Zealand’s best young aircraft engineer!
Right on form, Kaleb Bentham (23) from Air New Zealand Auckland secured Silver, with Bronze going to Tim Duncan (23), a talented young engineer working independently out of Wānaka. Legends, all of them!
From this exceptional trio, one may soon be named to represent Aotearoa on the world stage at the 48th WorldSkills International Competition in Shanghai, China, September 2026. How exciting!
WorldSkills New Zealand General Manager Carl Rankin says he couldn’t be more impressed by the standard on display and the strong backing from industry.
“Competitions like this lift the bar. The skill, focus and enthusiasm shown by these young aircraft engineers gives us real confidence in the future of the aviation sector. All nine competitors showed hunger to grow, push limits and embrace every challenge. I’d happily step onto any aircraft they’ve worked on, that’s how high the standard was.”
Carl says the real contest often happens long before anyone steps onto the competition floor.
“True competition begins with yourself, the drive to improve, to push harder, to stretch beyond what is comfortable. It keeps complacency at bay and fuels growth.”
He adds that the value goes far beyond medals.
“Competition gives us a way to measure progress and benchmark excellence. It strengthens individuals, supports employers, lifts industry capability, and ultimately benefits New Zealand as a whole through higher productivity and ever-rising standards.”
Bravo to all nine of our competitors. What an inspiring showcase of New Zealand excellence. A huge thankyou to the following organisations:
Our event sponsor: Service IQ
Venue host: Airforce Museum of NZ
Supporters: AEANZ, Airbus NZ, Air NZ, NMIT, NZDF, and RNZAF.
✈️ Skill. Precision. Passion. In Action at the Aircraft Maintenance National Competition in Christchurch in November 2025!
