THUNDER BAY - Grade 12 Atikokan High School student, Kelyn Vos, said he cannot picture himself stuck sitting behind a desk from nine to five, but luckily for him, he already has some hands-on experience in a trade that he would like to enter after graduation.
“My dad is a carpenter and since I was a little kid, I always enjoyed being on the job with him and doing that type of work,” he said. “It’s one of the trades I was thinking about pursing after high school.”
Vos was one of 28 high school students from Thunder Bay and the surrounding region putting their trade skills to the test during the Skills Ontario Competition on Saturday.
For the past 10 years, Confederation College has partnered with Skills Ontario to provide a qualifying competition for local and regional high school students for a chance to compete in the provincial showdown in Toronto next month.
“It’s part of a competition showcasing the skills you have learned in the courses or programming you’ve taken in high school,” said John Kantola, chair of trades and apprenticeships at Confederation College. “But it does provide a pathway where you can go on to the provincial competitions in Toronto. We are hoping some of our youth will do so and represent us well.”
The students were participating in four trades including carpentry, welding, culinary arts, and video production.
Throughout the day, judges observe the students as they work and evaluate the final products created.
“The most important thing is that they are working safely,” said Todd Henry, program coordinator for carpentry apprenticeship at Confederation College. “We are judging them continuously and at the end of the contest we are judging them on the quality of product they produce.”
While the students get to put their skills to the test and possibly earn a spot at the provincial competition, it’s also about encouraging students to pursue a skilled trade.
“As everybody knows, there is a shortage of skilled trades right now and there is a strong focus on trying to showcase the different pathways and opportunities that exist in skilled trades,” Kantola said. “We really need to focus on that and promote it.”
“We are looking at getting more skilled people into the trades,” Henry added. “There is a shortage coming. We are trying to spark their interest into becoming part of the trades in Ontario and Canada.”
Jewell Bolton and Austin Nistico, who were participating in the culinary competition, said they both want to continue to pursue culinary arts with the ultimate goal of becoming chefs.
“I thought this would be a lot of fun and good experience,” Bolton said. “I’ve been cooking for a couple years now. It’s a great thing to know and a lot of people can’t cook.”
“I’ve been cooking since I was 12-year-old,” Nistico added. “I just love cooking and eating my own food. You get to look at the end results and think: yeah, I made that.”
There is definitely a sense of pride that comes with working on and creating something with your own two hands, which is why students like Vos have already started focusing on the skilled trades in high school.
“I’ve taken at least one shop course, usually two every year since last year. Whenever I can I get out with my dad and I do co-op as well,” he said. “I just really enjoy the hands-on part. Me personally, I couldn’t sit in a cubical all day and do that type of work. You are always faced with a new task and always learning new tricks.”
