On June 6 we visited the annual "Skills Canada" competition which this year took place in Vancouver. This competition is the last step in Canada for competitors to qualify for the annual "World Skills" (this year in July in Leipzig, Germany). It is truly an "Olympics" for trades people in training at colleges and polytechs around the world. I had never been able to witness this competition and it was fantastic to see how trades people take pride in their important work.
All competitors need to first qualify in their region and then in their provinces. Only the gold, silver and bronze medal winners move to the next level. The judges of this NTC (National Trades Competition) take their task very serious (all of them are experienced professionals and many of them in fact teach at Canadian Community Colleges).
The skills competition range from culinary skills to hairdressing, from car electronics to masonry and from landscaping to industrial electrical maintenance...
Our international visitors enjoyed this visit and they will take many ideas back home. SENA Colombia joined the World Skills organization four years ago and will have several of their graduates compete this year in Leipzig after qualifying in the "Skills Americas" last November in Sao Paulo.
One of the excellent aspects of this competition is that there are also a few categories for high school aged competitors. All the local school boards profit from this opportunity to bring their students to the competition to get a better sense of the many trades professions that exist.
One of the Canadian champions gets interviewed while showing off his skills which he will test in Leipzig next month. One of the special guests at the competition was Holmes, the TV star and home renovator, who was handing out many signatures...
I will leave you with some more photos of the competition. If this ever comes near where you live, you will have to make an effort to visit!
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