Burnaby trades students took home six medals at the Skills Canada BC competition recently – and three qualified for the nationals in Quebec later this month.
After regional competitions in March, more than 600 high school and post-secondary students from across the province descended on the Tradex centre in Abbotsford on April 17 to compete in skills ranging from masonry to computer aided design and from baking to IT network systems administration.
Finishing at the top of their category were Moscrop Secondary Grade 12 student Masaru Suzuki in IT network systems administration, Moscrop Secondary Grade 12 student Connor De Vera-McGinn in autobody repair, and Byrne Creek Grade 12 student Anita Nambuuza in public speaking.
Taking home silver were Moscrop Secondary Grade 12 student Szymon Zemojtel in IT network systems administration and Byrne Creek Community School Grade 12 student Melda (Joy) Nese Erdem in graphic design.
Burnaby Central Secondary Grade 12 student Sarah Taylor earned bronze in cooking.
Students who finished first in the provincial competition qualified for the national Skills Canada competition in Quebec City, Que. May 30 and 31.
Allison McKillop, the Burnaby school district's program consultant for career education transition programs, likes the multi-trade and technology contests because they give highschoolers a chance to see where trades training and a trades career could take them.
"It's a good combination of seeing both high school competitions and post-secondary," she said of the provincial event. "There's also different industry partners and post-secondaries. Skilled Trades BC, they set it up, so it's half trade show, half competition so it's a cool opportunity for students to go out and see the breadth of things that are available."
Trades industries continue to face a public perception they are a "less than" career option, according to McKillop, but she said attitudes are changing.
"In the last, say, five years, I would say parents, who tend to gate-keep what their children will do, are starting to warm up a bit more to the idea that there is security and careers in the trades," she said.
In the Burnaby school district, meanwhile, the popularity of specific trades and industry training programs fluctuates, according to McKillop.
Currently, she said welding and plumbing are drawing a lot of applications.
The appeal of some trades, according to McKillop, is they can lead to well-paying careers with bigger companies or to a skilled tradesperson starting his or her own small business.
"I think that really does appeal to a lot of people," she said.
For more information, visit the Skills Canada website.
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