An Ocean View teen with Asperger’s Syndrome has proved that the sky is the limit if you work hard to pursue your dreams.
Kai Petersen, 16, is one of 25 gold medallists from the WorldSkills SA national competition – that took place last month – who will represent South Africa in France later this year.
WorldSkills SA is part of a global organisation that promotes vocational, technological, and service-oriented education and training and is supported by the Department of Higher Education and Training.
Last month Kai, a student at False Bay College’s Westlake campus, was one of 200 participants from all over South Africa at the WorldSkills nationals in Durban.
He competed in the automotive spray painting category against five competitors for the ultimate opportunity – to represent South Africa at the WorldSkills international competition in Lyon in September.
In Lyon, Kai will be one of 1 500 competitors from more than 65 countries who will compete in 59 professions, according to the WorldSkills website.
His mother Chevone Petersen said this will enable him to measure his skills against international standards of excellence.
In preparation for the international competition, he will undergo rigorous training between Cape Town and Johannesburg and will need funds to do so, she said.
As a single mother, Ms Petersen said her only means of raising funds is via a BackaBuddy campaign and she aims to raise R100 000.
Kai’s mentor, department head for automotive bodywork at the Westlake campus, Jevon Daniels, said in preparation for Lyon, Kai will train under WorldSkills national expert Wayne Brandon in Johannesburg at the BASF, a supplier and training facility to the collision repair industry.
“He will be trained according to what is expected of him at the international competition and when he returns he will work on perfecting his techniques under my guidance,” Mr Daniels said.
He said Kai will also be attending a spray gun challenge at a world-class facility in Germany in June.
Ms Petersen said while his travel and accommodation costs are covered, there’s a mental preparation needed to compete at such a high level.
“Kai will face competitors from countries with superior resources and training facilities.”
She said funds will be used to help with an improved “workshop set-up” at home, tools, and the support he needs to thrive throughout his travels, training, and competing.
Mr Daniels said a home set-up will require a suitable size compressor and a top-of-the-range spray gun – not an entry-level one you can get at a hardware store.
“The amount of paint used in a professional gun versus an entry-level one is chalk and cheese,” he said.
Mr Daniels said Kai is a determined student and the college was proud of what he had achieved.
“I think spray-painting calms him down. He is very focused and in his element when he spray paints,” Mr Daniels said.
Due to Kai’s hearing impairment and being on the autism spectrum, mainstream schools were not suitable for him, said his mother.
She said she had taken him out of school in 2018 after which he was home schooled before enrolling at False Bay College in 2023.
During his holidays in 2022, he job-shadowed at an auto-body repair shop in Diep River and spray-painted a friend’s car with the help of an Ocean View spraypainter to build up a portfolio of evidence that was required by the college.
“I’ve always liked the thought of working on cars. I have always had a very detailed eye when it comes to car bodywork,” Kai said.
He said he was proud of himself for making it to nationals as it was “quite a process.”
“We first had inter-college competitions, then provincials, and then the nationals. The spray painters had to compete in Johannesburg due to the health and safety requirements. So I attended both opening and closing ceremonies in Durban and then flew to Johannesburg with the other competitors,” he said.
He said he had “given his all” at the nationals and was thrilled to be representing South Africa and the college at nationals.
“I am both nervous and excited about this experience as being on the spectrum is not something that I notice all the time but I must focus on how to interpret communication, and social cues, and can experience sensory input differently,” he said.
In addition to being on the spectrum, he suffers from hearing loss and has to focus more on listening which is tiring.
“I have to focus more to filter things out around me, and when something is unplanned it can be a challenge for me,” he said, adding that having a great support system at home and the college was of great help.
“Usually, an autistic person will have one or two special interests that they completely build their world around and it can consume their every moment. Few have the opportunity to make a career out of their special interest and I do, and I’m very excited and grateful,” he said..
To support Kai click on this BackaBuddy link
To support Kai visit https://www.backabuddy.co.za/campaign/help-kai-shine-at-the-skills-olympics
For more information about Kai’s journey, email Ms Petersen at chev_petersen@yahoo.co.uk
