Skills Ontario qualifier challenges students
High school students put their talents to the test during the Skills Ontario Competition qualifiers at Niagara College Saturday.
Taking place at both of the college’s campuses, students competed in four areas for the one-day qualifier: carpentry, culinary arts, TV video production and welding.
Seventy students from nine school boards, including Niagara’s public and Catholic boards, competed. Overall, 400 students competed across seven locations in the province where qualifying rounds were held.
“The ultimate goal is to advance to the Skills Ontario Competition, at which point they’ll have the chance to compete against all the students from the other locations,” Maresa MacAskill, director of competitions for Skills Ontario, said of the qualifier rounds.
The Ontario competition takes place in Toronto next month.
From there, the students who receive gold recognition will advance to the Skills Canada Competition and compete at the national level in June in Edmonton.
This is the 14th year the qualifiers have taken place, but the 29th year for the provincial competition.
MacAskill described the competition overall as great hands-on experience that allows students to put the things they’ve been learning in the classroom to the test competitively.
Over the years, she said, the
competition has been well-received, and schools jump at the opportunity to have their students participate.
“Usually we see some students return for a couple of years, which is nice,” she said. “Sometimes they come the one year and then get that experience. Then they come back with what they’ve learned.”
While it is still mostly male students who participate, MacAskill said, more female students are joining in. She said Skills Ontario has some specific initiatives to encourage young women to enter skilled trades.
Skills Ontario is also encouraging Indigenous youth to participate as well. According to Skills Ontario, more than 4,000 young women and Indigenous students will take part in its programs this year.