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Worldskills Competition full of lessons, fun
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Skill City provided youth and other visitors with a unique opportunity to experience a number of different fun and interesting skills ranging from carpentry to computer animation and colourful floristry design using fruits and vegetables.
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Ricky Young and Jake Ogg on the plane. Ricky had never flown before. He was the one who shouted out “This is so awesome!” as we took off from Slave Lake.
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The “Creative Arts & Fashion” category consisted of skills related to fine arts and fashionable design and creation. Competition areas included: Jewellery, Floristry, Fashion Technology and Graphic Design Technology.
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Left to right: Hailey Van Dale, Shane Bjornson, Jamie Smith and Daniel Richardson talking to one of the chefs judging the culinary arts competition.
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The Bricklaying competition was part of the “Construction & Building Technology” category.
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Microsoft’s interactive Flight Simulator game gave students the opportunity to climb inside the cockpit of a number of different airplanes and take the controls with support from real pilots.
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Wall and floor tiling competitors in the “Construction & Building Technology” category were asked to design a Canada flag with the year “2009” above it.
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Spencer Zelman using the pulleys. There were three, each with the same weight - 100 pounds. They were rigged differently and some required much more effort to raise the weight than others.
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The “Transportation & Logistics” category covered skilled areas associated with the transportation sector, including the creation, repair and maintenance of transportation vehicles. Competition areas were Autobody Repair, Automotive Technology and Car Painting.
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The “Social & Personal Services” category covered a wide range of skilled areas related to the service industry including cooking.
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Kyle Gordon climbing the rigging in the ironworkers’ tent.
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Staff and students pose for a group photo at Calgary International Airport on the morning of Sept. 3, 2009 following their one hour flight from Slave Lake.
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Spotlight Staff
For Spotlight
An estimated 120 students/supervisors from High Prairie School Division were among a field of more than 50,000 Alberta youth to witness the high standard of achievement and individual excellence at WorldSkills Calgary 2009 held Sept. 1-7.
“High Prairie School Division was extremely fortunate to have the opportunity to send many of our students to this rare one-of-a-kind educational venue,” HPSD Superintendent Laura Poloz explains.
She adds that the event was a truly rewarding educational experience for all HPSD students who were exposed to a broad and diverse level of skill, competence, and talent exemplified by trades and technology professionals throughout the world.
“WorldSkills serves to remind all of our students about the critical influence which skills, trades and technology professionals continue to have in terms of inspiring future success and personal fulfillment in today’s modern global economy,” says Poloz.
Participating schools from HPSD included Roland Michener Secondary School in Slave Lake, E.W. Pratt High School and Prairie River Junior High School in High Prairie as well as Kinuso School.
All students and staff were flown to Calgary during the event from Slave Lake courtesy of a government-chartered Air North 737-200 aircraft.
Noela Vandermeulen, a teacher at Prairie River Junior High and coordinator of the Youth Apprenticeship Program (YAP), described the event as a perfect opportunity for her Grade 9 students to witness and learn about the different vocational trades available in today’s demanding and competitive workforce market.
“WorldSkills offered our students a unique first-hand glimpse of the wide range of trades available to them as potential future career choices.
It also gave them a better sense of appreciation and understanding about the value of academic achievement, skills and high standards of competence in relation to personal fulfillment and economic success.”
Lorna Cameron, who teaches at E.W. Pratt High School, was equally impressed by the positive impression which WorldSkills had on students.
“This event was a great opportunity for students interested in pursuing a trade as a future career to explore the various career options open in the trade fields,” says Cameron, adding that the powerful display of international trades competition lent itself to the relevance and prestige of trades careers which many HPSD students may never have considered.
“A trade can take a student anywhere in the world and open up an endless array of opportunities.”
WorldSkills involved more than 900 competitors vying for high standards of excellence in 45 different skills categories featuring Transportation & Logistics, Construction & Building Technology, Information & Communication Technology, Manufacturing & Engineering Technology, Creative Arts & Fashion in addition to Social & Personal Services.
Total attendance for the event, including opening and closing ceremonies, was 151,589.
Korea led all nations at WorldSkills Calgary 2009, winning 23 medals.
Switzerland and Japan tied for second, with 14 medals each while Chinese Taipei finished third, with 12.
Team Canada competitors took home a total of eight medals, topping their previous record of six medals from 2007 in Shizuoka, Japan.
The WorldSkills Competition is held every two years and includes hundreds of the best young professionals from trades, service and technical programs around the world who gather to showcase their talents and abilities.
The event, which was established in 1950 and is coordinated through WorldSkills International, is the biggest of its kind in the world with 51 member countries/regions.
WorldSkills International’s targeted mission is to draw attention to the high standards of skill, competence, and excellence exemplified by trades and technology professionals.
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