Five
students from Ontario will compete for Team Canada at World Skills London 2011
Welcome
back friends! As much as we will miss
the warm sunny days of summer, our team at Skills Canada – Ontario is excited
for the start of the school year.
Strange
as that may sound, who wouldn’t be excited to cheer on five talented students
from Ontario who will be in London, England from 5-8 October representing Team
Canada and demonstrating their “skill” on the world stage? Almost feels like the same infectious
excitement that took over Canada when we hosted the Winter Olympics – Oh
Canada!
WorldSkills
London 2011 will be the world's largest, international skills Competition. Over 1,000 young people from more than 50
countries/regions will be competing in 46 skill areas.
The ultimate goal for each competitor is to be the best of the best in
their chosen contest area.
The
five students from Ontario that will be competing for Team Canada are: Jonathan
Sinke (Cabinetmaking); Ryan Gomes (Aircraft Maintenance); Tom Middlebro’
(Offset Printing); and, Benjamin Church and Adrian Schut (Mobile Robotics). What an incredible experience
this will be for these talented individuals.
I have
the privilege of travelling with Team Canada and will be writing a daily blog
to share my experience with you. Stay
tuned for updates on our competitors and highlights from this international
event which is designed to inspire future generations of skilled, high-quality
professionals.
As you
are probably well aware, but I think it’s worth repeating often, the mission of
Skills Canada – Ontario is to promote careers in the skilled trades and
technologies as viable, first-choice career options for young people. WorldSkills London 2011 is just one of the
many great opportunities that young people in Ontario have to explore these
exciting and rewarding career opportunities.
The
thousands of readers who followed our blog last year got a taste of the
award-winning programs and events we coordinate each year. This year, our readers will still get the
same exciting news, plus two new series.
We will be profiling various skilled trade and technological careers,
sharing career management tips, and introducing you to past competitors who
have gone on to have very successful careers.
I hope you enjoy the new series.
On our
Facebook fan page this year we will have some exciting contests. There will be opportunities for our followers
to win an iTunes gift card.
Finally,
thank you for being part of our growing online community. Please feel free to invite others you know
(student, parent or teacher) who may want to be part of the excitement and see
for themselves that Skills Work!
Gail
Smyth,
Executive
Director
