More than 170 students – ranging from middle school students to post-secondary Apprentices – are expected to compete in the two-day event. It is believed that the Peace Region competition will have the second largest number of competitors in the province.
A new competition this year is Gravity Car, where middle school competitors will see who has the fastest car on a 24-foot track. As well, returning after a two-year absence is TV/Video Production competition where teams of two students have five hours to create a video on a topic that is not revealed until the day of the competition.
The schedule of events is as follows:
•Junior Skills: Thursday, March 8. Spaghetti Bridge and Gravity Cars, in the gymnasium at NLC’s Dawson Creek Campus.
•Secondary Skills: Thursday, March 8. Cabinetmaking, CAD Architectural Design and Cosmetology at Dawson Creek Secondary School (DCSS) South Peace Campus; and Carpentry, TV/Video Production and Welding at NLC.
•Post-Secondary (Apprentice) Skills: Friday, March 9. Aircraft Maintenance Engineer, Carpentry, Culinary Arts (Secondary), Culinary Arts (Post-Secondary) and Welding at NLC; Cosmetology/Hairstyling at NLC’s South Peace Campus, behind DCSS.
Registration is at 8:30 am each day, with competition beginning at 9 am. Awards will be presented at 4 pm each day.
The Skills Canada Peace Region competition is organized by staff members from NLC, and School Districts 59 and 60. Sponsorship is provided by Encana, the Industry Training Authority, and the DCSS Parent Advisory Council.
Gold medallists in each division have the opportunity to travel to Abbotsford for the Provincial Skills competition. Last year, Andrew Lines, an AME student at NLC, captured the provincial title, and a silver medal at the Skills Canada national championships.
Skills Canada is a national organization that promotes excellence in skilled trades and technologies by organizing competitions at the Middle School, Secondary and Post-Secondary (Apprentice) levels.
