A handful of students from Albert E. Peacock Collegiate will be heading to Edmonton for the Skills Canada National competition.
Over 500 students from across the country enter over 40 different categories each year in the Olympic-style competition judged by industry professionals. Winners earn a spot on Team Canada to compete in worlds.
But Tyler Overs, who has had three provincial medals in the last three years in the electrical engineering department, said, for him, it’s not about winning.
“It is great to experience this so you don’t have to make costly mistakes, and end up getting a university degree that basically can’t be used, or you find out, ‘Oh, I actually don’t enjoy doing this and I can’t spend the rest of my life doing this.’ It’s basically like a try-before-you-buy sort of deal,” he said.
But Tye Buettner, who is competing in the workplace health and safety competition, felt it’s more of a learning experience
“Its something that I can take skills from. Although I may not be going into that field, I’ll take them into university, which is where I am going next year,” she said.
The three other students from Peacock Collegiate are Brooke Williamson, who is competing in the job interview category, Brett Mayson, a 15-year-old competing in website development, and Jackson Campbell, who will be doing auto-body repair. All of them said the competition offers the opportunity to network with other students in the same fields.
For more on this story, read an upcoming edition of the Times-Herald.
