Ms Skills - From The Executive Director

Hello Ontario:

This is our last day in London, England.  Last night’s awards ceremony was tremendous.  I am so happy, and proud of Ryan Gomes, Aircraft Maintenance, and Jonathan Sinke, Cabinetmaking, who both earned bronze medals!!!  John also earned the Best of Nation Award for Canada.  They have worked extremely hard for this recognition – congratulations!

Thank you for reading my blog this week and sharing this wonderful experience with me.

Ms. Skills - Gail Smyth

Executive Director

Ms Skills - From The Executive Director

Greetings from England:

Well, I have now officially seen it all! Today I saw three young women and one man who had their designed in the hairdressing competition: one was wearing condoms (and, no, I am not kidding), another was wearing syringes and a third one a tree! The man was wearing a CD player in his hair. Hopefully, these creations don’t become too popular!

I am happy to report that Ben was back competing today. He still doesn’t look too well but good for him for getting back in the game.

Tom Middlebro', Offset Printing, is doing extremely well. I stood with his parents today as he prepared his printing project. I think it was pretty obvious that we were all very proud of him.

Jonathan Sinke, Cabinetmaking, is also doing well. He is well on his way to finishing his project so he should be in good shape for tomorrow (last day of competition).

I love watching Ryan Gomes, Aircraft Maintenance; he is very focused...it’s pretty exciting to watch all of them compete!

The weather has turned cool so Fall has arrived in London, England. We are joining Gary Cronkwright for dinner in a few minutes.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Ms. Skills - Gail Smyth

Executive Director

Ms Skills - From the Executive Director

Greetings from London, England, Day 7

Thanks to our new friend, Dr. Jane Lewis, from Cisco Systems Ltd., Ron and I had a very enjoyable “banquet” lunch at the Restaurant Servicing Contest.  Jane was very kind and gave us her tickets so we could join six others for a very memorable meal.  Our server was a very pleasant young woman from New Zealand.

We spent the entire day at the competition site from just after 9:00 a.m. and we just got back to our hotel a few minutes ago at 7:30 p.m.  Today I saw something I never imagined seeing at a skills competition; for the “Have a go” exhibit for refrigeration, students were given the instructions to make a key chain and when they were finished they used their key chain for entry into a small ice rink!

I will be bringing home lots of ideas for our summer camp program and possibly the elementary workshops at this year’s OTSC. 

It was nice to see Mary Wilson from WSIB at the Competition in England.  Mary arrived on Monday and left for home today.  Yesterday I saw Shaun Thorson, Carole Anne Ryan from Newfoundland, Claude Borque from Quebec, and Mark Bramer, the Canadian Expert in Cabinetmaking.  Jonathan Sinke, Cabinetmaking Competitor, was with Mark.  Johnathan’s family had a fundraiser for Jon in August of this year and Jon auctioned off two of his test projects for the London competition.  I was delighted to learn that the table I purchased is the project that they are making here in London.  It will always be a highlight of my London experience.

I stopped by the Mobile Robotic contest to speak briefly to Adrian Schut.  Adrian is to be commended; his co-competitor, Benjamin Church, took sick with the stomach flu in the middle of the night and was unable to participate so Adrian competed alone today.  They were sharing a hotel room but Adrian has been moved to a separate hotel room in the hopes that he won’t catch the bug that Ben has.  Please keep them in your thoughts.    I will be back at the competition site tomorrow morning and will report back again tomorrow night.

Good night for now,

Ms Skills - Gail Smyth
Executive Director

Ms Skills - From the Executive Director

Greetings from London, England, Day 6

I want you to imagine, if you can, a competition site that is three times larger than RIM Park in Waterloo and the host site for the Ontario Technological Skills Competition!  As I walked towards the Excel Centre and host of the 41^st World Skills Competition in London, England, I was informed by a guide that this site was 1 km in length and approximately ½ km in width and 1 million square feet – I know that for a fact because my feet are telling me that I walked 1 million square feet today.

All contest sites fit inside the Excel Centre including Gardening and Landscaping.  Today there were thousands of very young people visiting the site; these students were kept entertained because there were many, many hands-on activities for them to try under the caption “Give it a Try”.  I handed out maple sugar candies at the Skills Canada booth – they were a great hit with everyone.  I was pleased to note that the students were also very, very polite and always said please and thank you.

The Ontario students competing at this competition are all doing well; they may be nervous inside but they are all looking very calm, cool and collected.  I am proud to be here to witness their achievements.

It’s been another great day!  I will be back in touch again tomorrow.

Warmest regards,

Ms Skills - Gail Smyth

Executive Director

Ms Skills - From the Executive Director

Greetings from London, England, Day 5

Gary Cronkwright, Past Chair of the Board of Directors, arrived late last night – on time and with his luggage in hand.  We met for breakfast this morning and then spent the day on a sightseeing tour of beautiful London. I am glad to report that I had a wonderful, and very uneventful day.

We just returned from the Opening Ceremony for WorldSkills London and it was an absolutely amazing ceremony.  It began and ended with young people performing song, dance and drama from choirs from four nations:  Scotland, Ireland, England and Wales.  We have discussed for years the need to make sure the ceremonies were youth friendly and tonight it was on the mark!  It even started and ended on time, which was another first for a WorldSkills Opening Ceremony!

They announced that there were nearly 1,000 competitors from 50 countries competing over the next four days, and they are expecting over 200,000 visitors.

Tomorrow I will be heading to the ExCel Center for Day 1 of the competition.  We are becoming quite the experts when manipulating our way on the “Tube,” and tomorrow will be another new experience.  After having my first walk around the site, I will be staffing the booth at Canada House.


All the best,

Ms Skills - Gail Smyth
Executive Director

Ms Skills - From the Executive Director

It's finally here!  Team Canada is prepping and primping for the Opening Ceremonies of the World Skills Competition - WorldSkills London 2011.  Our very own Gail Smyth is on site and will be sending us daily updates!

Greetings from London, England:

At 2:00 p.m. on Friday, September 30^th, we (my husband, Ron, and I) arranged for a car to pick up at our house in Kitchener, Ontario and take us to the airport to pick us up for our 5:00 p.m. flight to Detroit.  The weather wasn’t terribly nice so we arrived at the airport shortly after 3:30 p.m. but still in lots of time to catch our flight.  Unfortunately, the flight from Detroit was late leaving Toronto so we arrived in Detroit 20 minutes before our flight to London was scheduled to leave.

The Captain was very reassuring – “Don’t worry, no one is going to miss their connection" ...famous last words.  Unfortunately, our gate seemed miles away from our departing gate and even though we ran most of the way, our names were being called in the distance and the plane left without us.

“Don’t worry,” said the young man at the gate, “we have you on a flight to Amsterdam.”  So we ran again but this time we were more fortunate even though we were the last two people on the plane.  We had an uneventful flight to Amsterdam; unfortunately we had a five-hour wait for our flight to London, England.  We have now been awake for 24 hours.

We arrived safely in London, England and spent the next 1½ hours waiting for our opportunity to speak to the Immigration Officer.  We were beginning to get a little edgy with each other, however, we anxiously went to collect our luggage and, guess what?  No luggage.  “Don’t worry,” said the nice gentleman at the complaint desk “you should have your luggage in two days.”

Disheartened, we nevertheless managed to figure out how to use the “Tube” and find our way to the Jenkins Hotel where we will be staying for the next ten days during the World Skills Competition.  I have a severe case of sleep apnea and, you guessed it, packed away in my missing suitcase is my sleeping machine so, needless to say, I have had a few very sleepless nights.

Obviously, without clean clothes, we haven’t strayed too far from our hotel waiting anxiously for our luggage to arrive.  I am pleased to report that at 12:00 noon today our luggage arrived safe and sound.


Gail Smyth
Executive Director

Ms. Skills - From the Executive Director

BUILDING FUTURES, ONE DREAM AT A TIME

Skills Canada – Ontario will host its 10th Annual Fundraising Gala on March 4

There have been countless articles written about the impending shortage of skilled tradespeople.  In a recent edition of Maclean's, Canada’s most famous contractor, Mike Holmes was quoted as saying, “in 10 years, we’re going to be a million tradespeople short.”

Convinced yet?   We have been convinced for over 21 years that young people can have a very rewarding future by choosing the skilled trades as a career path.

Enabling change requires action.  We need to give our young people the opportunity to explore the skilled trades and technologies as career choices if we hope to strengthen our workforce, and develop the talent our province requires to stand out in a very competitive global economy.

On March 4, 2011, Skills Canada – Ontario will host its 10^th Annual Fundraising Gala, appropriately themed “Building Futures, One Dream At A Time.”  It is always a very exciting evening that features dinner, live music, and a silent auction.  This year, we will also incorporate a live auction into the evening.

The event was established by the Board of Directors to raise funds for the Skills Canada – Ontario Bursary, which provides financial assistance to competitors from Ontario that advance to the Canadian Skills Competition.  It also provides assistance to students participating in other Skills Canada – Ontario programs where costs may be prohibitive.

We have countless stories of young people who have participated in programs offered by Skills Canada – Ontario who have gone on to have engaging, successful careers.  Celebrating their success, as well as the success of other skilled tradespeople associated with our organization, is something we are very proud to share.

Our Fundraising Gala also features inductions into the Klaus D. Woerner Hall of Fame.  The late Klaus Woerner, founder and CEO of ATS Automation Tooling Systems, was a gifted engineer, entrepreneur and business leader who made a significant and lasting contribution to the global automation industry.  Thousands of young engineers and tradespeople around the world have benefited from his commitment to apprenticeship training.  His sharp intellect, dedication to adding value through innovation, global insight and passion to succeed made him one of Canada's great entrepreneurs.

The Hall of Fame Awards recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to the advancement of skilled trades and technologies. Since 2006, this award has been presented in memory of Klaus Woerner, a trailblazer for the skilled trades.  Visit our website to see a list of past recipients.

We would be happy to have you join us at this exciting event.  For information, or to order tickets, click here.

Gail Smyth

Executive Director, Skills Canada - Ontario

Ms. Skills – From the Executive Director

Ontario Improves Skilled Trade System

For the past 22 years we have been promoting careers in the skilled trades and technologies as viable, first choice career options for young people.  We have had many wonderful success stories and have encouraged many students across the province to pursue a very rewarding career choice.

Despite these accomplishments our team still has a big mountain to climb – the mountain of misconception.  How do we enhance the value, or importance, of skilled trade and technological careers in our society?

Careers in medicine, law, and education are respected career choices – as they should be, because they are important.  But where would these professionals perform their work without qualified tradespeople to design, construct and maintain our hospitals, courthouses and schools?

Many of the professions mentioned above have a regulatory body, such as the College of Physicians and Surgeons, College of Nurses and the Ontario College of Teachers.  These professional bodies have a very important function, such as issuing licenses, advocating on behalf of the profession, and improving the knowledge and skills of its members.  It also gives these professions credibility and garners greater respect from the public.

In the Fall of 2009, the Government of Ontario established the Ontario College of Trades.  The College of Trades will be a regulatory body that gives industry a greater role in recruitment, governance, certification and apprenticeship training.  It will also give the skilled trades a professional regulatory body similar to teachers, doctors and nurses.

I was proud to have been one of nine industry leaders chosen to serve as the Appointments Council and interim Board for the Ontario College of Trades.  The College will establish a framework of fees to support itself, and develop a complaints, enforcement and discipline system to govern its members.

As a member of the Council I was able to recommend that Kevin Piunno, a past competitor from the Ontario Technological Skills Competition, design a new website for the College. 

Kevin, a 2nd-year student from Niagara College, has been competing at the Ontario Technological Skills Competition since he was a secondary school student at the Niagara District School Board.  As a secondary school competitor, Kevin earned a gold medal in 2008 and a silver medal in 2009 in the Website Development contest.  Kevin competed in Website Development again in May 2010 as a post-secondary school student, earning his second gold medal.

The Ontario College of Trades website (http://www.collegeoftrades.ca/) will be launched very soon.  Good work, Kevin!

We know we still have a large part of the mountain to climb, however with the establishment of the College of Trades, we are one step closer to the summit.

For information on the College of Trades, visit http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/tcu/collegeoftrades/.

Ms. Skills - From The Executive Director

Skills Work!®  

For over 20 years Skills Canada-Ontario has been the voice delivering the message to young people across the province that skilled trade and technological careers really do work.

Our mission, to promote careers in the skilled trades and technologies as viable, first choice career options, is driven by two economic terms that ultimately shape our workforce – supply and demand. 

On the demand side, there is plenty of research telling us that there is a need for workers in all sectors that we promote, including construction, motive power, service, industrial and technology.  On the supply side, we know that young people are not choosing skilled trades and technologies careers, which will leave a skill gap as a result of an ageing workforce.

The challenge for our organization is that careers in the skilled trades and technologies are perceived to be boring, dirty and low-paying.  To overcome these myths and misconceptions, our team continues to design and deliver programs that provide young people with the opportunity to experience first-hand the joy and reward that can come from pursuing a skilled trade or technological career.

The cornerstone of our programs is the Ontario Technological Skills Competition.  This three-day event showcases the talent and passion of the students that compete in more than 60 skilled trade and technology contest areas.

For the other 362 days of the year our team is actively travelling across province igniting the minds of young people through our other, yet equally important, programs. 

The in-school presentation program continues to reach thousands of students in both elementary and secondary schools that are affiliated with Skills Canada – Ontario.  Many more young women are considering a career in the skilled trades and technologies as a result of our “Skills Work!® for Women” Networking Dinner program and our Young Women’s Conferences.  Our Cardboard Boat Races continue to make a big splash in each community we visit.

Our newest initiative is a social media campaign.  The goals of this campaign are to increase the number of people we reach each year, enhance our audiences’ understanding of our mission and award-winning programming, and finally, to further position Skills Canada - Ontario as the voice for careers in the skilled trades and technologies. 

As the Executive Director of this incredible organization I would like to issue two challenges to those who will be following us on this blog and the other social media tools we have created.

The first is to consider how skilled trades and technologies impact your life each day.  I am sure that each of you will be able to come up with several examples of how critical these careers are in both our personal and professional environments.

The second challenge is to encourage you to become engaged in our social media campaign.  Comment on our blog.  Retweet our tweets.  Follow us on Facebook.  And finally, recommend us to a young person, parent, educator, or someone in your personal network that may benefit from being involved with Skills Canada – Ontario.

Skills Work!®  Let us show you how.

Gail Smyth