AMDSB Hosts Local Skills Ontario Competition
by Bob Montgomery
The Listowel District Secondary School hosted the Avon Maitland District School Board skills competition on March 6, welcoming seven students from four secondary schools. The event, featuring competitions in Welding and Team of 2 Carpentry, was the first time the Avon Maitland Board had organized a local competition of this nature.
Avon Maitland Recruiter Jody Froud says the Board wanted to get more of their students who were in senior tech classes involved in the Skills Ontario Competition and in order for them to build interest in that competition they decided to host a local competition for students in two different categories where they had more than one school interested in sending a student. “We focused on the Welding and the Team of 2 Carpentry. We had students from four different high schools participate in this competition at Listowel District Secondary School. The Welding event has a qualifying competition at Fanshawe College and the Team of 2 Carpentry Winners advance directly to the Skills Ontario Competition.”
Standout performers included Leland Gile, a grade 12 student from LDSS, whose exceptional skills earned him a spot in the upcoming qualifying competition at Fanshawe College on April 13. Mac Frey and his teammate Kiyran Coulter secured a place in the Team of 2 Carpentry provincial competition scheduled for May 7th in Toronto.
Froud says they've been working hard to get students interested in the skilled trades at a younger age and then encouraging students who have shown an interest to take more tech classes as they move into the higher grades. She adds, the students who are competing in the Skills Ontario Competition are students who have reached the point where they know what they want to do and it's a huge advantage to know that coming out of grade twelve, but very difficult to know unless they've had some exposure to several options.
Students from St. Marys District Collegiate and Vocational Institute, Goderich District Collegiate Institute and Stratford District Secondary School also participated. Each competitor was selected from their respective schools as the top representative in their trade. AMDSB also announced they would be sending a student from SDSS for the hairstyling competition and another student from GDCI for the Individual Carpentry competition, further underscoring the diverse range of skills across the district.
Froud says this competition not only showcased the talent within AMDSB but also highlighted the importance of technical education in preparing students for successful careers in various trades.
More information about Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program, Skills Ontario or other pathways programming offered at the Avon Maitland District School Board can be found at here.
LDSS Students Advancing To Next Skills Ontario Round
Left: LDSS students Kiyran Coulter, Leland Gile, Mac Frey
Photo courtesy of Avon Maitland District School Board
