SAIT hosted a regional skills competition earlier this year, allowing high school and trade school students to compete with their peers in various trades such as welding, cabinetmaking, and carpentry. The winners from each trade event will be chosen to participate in the provincial skills competition being held in Edmonton on May 8.
Cabinetmaking competitors crafted shelves and carpentry competitors transformed two-by-fours into a garden bench. Junior welders used processes of the gas metal arc and shielded metal arc to apply fillet welds. Seniors welded a staircase using fillet and open groove welds using the former processes.
According to Statistics Canada, 81,141 new registrations in apprenticeship programs in 2022 was the highest it had been since 2014.
SAIT has already set a great example with two students, Noah Harding in plumbing and Tyler Cherkowski in refrigeration and air conditioning, qualified for WorldSkills 2024.
The WorldSkills challenge takes place every two years, this year’s event in Lyon, France, will host 1,500 young competitors from more than 65 countries. The event represents the best of international excellence in skilled trades and technology, hosting competitors from over 60 skill areas.
Dan Weinert, the academic chair of the apprenticeship programs at SAIT believes this a great opportunity for high school and SAIT students to get ready to be challenged in their trade.
“It’s in a bit of a surreal environment because they’re being timed, and then quality matters. Some thrive in that pressured environment, and others can fall to pieces,” he said.
Weinert hopes students who took part in the high school competition determine if they truly desire a career in the trades, asserting that recognizing a passion is a valuable outcome.
“There are no losers in any of this,” he said.
According to Weinert, time management is particularly valuable in these kinds of competitions. He emphasized that each student learns to develop technical skills such as welding, framing, or woodworking but the introduction of time gives them a major challenge.
He further added that each student has a different level of skill and experience, but time management is the most important element overlooked by most people.
Automobile technology, baking, culinary arts, and video productions are upcoming competitions scheduled at SAIT on March 16. However, the dates for intermediate and junior hairstyling competitions have not yet been announced.
The selection for Canada’s team at the upcoming WorldSkills event will be announced in July.
