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Comments or questions about this e-newsletter?
Contact Michele Rogerson
[email protected]
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Message from the CEO
We are now 5 weeks away from National Skilled Trades & Technology Week (NSTTW) where we welcome member organizations and partners from across Canada to celebrate skilled trades and technology educational pursuits and careers. Alongside regional activities Skills Canada will host a launch event in the National Capital Region bringing together representatives from industry, education and government committed to promoting skilled trade and technology careers.
Skills Canada wishes to commend and congratulate the 32 young men and women who competed at SCNC 2014 and will now move on to the Team Canada selection process at the WorldSkills Canadian Trials in January and February of this year. Qualifying for the trials is a significant accomplishment. We are raising the bar for Team Canada and feel confident that this will result in even better performances on the international stage. Following the WorldSkills Canadian Trials, Skills Canada looks forward to announcing WorldSkills Team Canada 2015 in March of 2015. Good luck to all competing to perform at the 43rd WorldSkills Competition, in S�o Paulo, Brazil, August 11-15, 2015.
Fast approaching as well is the 21st Skills Canada National Competition to be held May 27-30th, 2015 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. As always this competition brings together Canada's top Provincial/Territorial competitors who have worked hard to be the very best in their chosen sector. Many exciting events are planned as we "go west" for SCNC 2015.
Shaun Thorson
Chief Executive Officer, Skills/Comp�tences Canada
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SCC In the News
The National Post recently published an article highlighting the skilled trades shortage in Canada, in which they featured a Skills Canada alumni, Adrian Schut, who competed at WorldSkills London 2011 in Mobile Robotics and asked about his professional journey to pursue a career in the skilled trades. They also interviewed Natalee Lewis, a past SCC employee, who is now pursuing her plumbing apprenticeship to inquire about her decision to switch career paths after having completed a University degree. Read this interesting article.
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Essential Skills
The fifth annual Essential Skills Day will take place on Friday, September 26, 2014 to raise awareness about the importance of workplace literacy and essential skills training.
The nine essential skills are indispensable in every job to varying degrees and at different levels of complexity. These skills provide the foundation for learning all other skills and enable people to evolve within jobs and to adapt to workplace change.
For ideas on how to celebrate, or to download free Essential Skills tools and resources, visit: www.EssentialSkillsDay.ca. Don't forget to connect on social media: Follow ABC Life Literacy Canada on Twitter @abclifeliteracy and join the conversation using the hashtag #LearnForward. For more information about the nine essential skills, visit: www.EssentialSkillsDay.ca
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National Skilled Trades and Technology Week (NSTTW)
November 3-9, 2014
NSTTW is a key date in the annual Skills/Comp�tences Canada (SCC) calendar and its goal is to promote and host awareness raising events around the many career opportunities in skilled trades and technology in Canada. During NSTTW organizations from across Canada get involved with SCC in a "hands-on" way to promote skilled trades and technology careers to youth, parents and the general public.
NSTTW in the National Capital Region
Official Launch of NSTTW - Tuesday, November 4th at Algonquin College
Join us on Tuesday, November 4th at the Algonquin Centre for Construction Excellence to kick off a week of activities being hosted across the country. The official program will take place from 9:30am - 10:00 am and will be followed by several interactive Try-A-Trade� and Technology activities.
Special guests and industry leaders will address the importance of encouraging Canada's youth to consider skilled trades and technology careers as first-rate options. Young students from the Ottawa area will participate in hands-on activities aimed at heightening their understanding and interest in pursuing a career in the skilled trades and technologies. Through these activities SCC will demonstrate the importance of the Essential Skills leading to a successful and fulfilling career in the skilled trades and technologies.
Visit our Website for the agenda and for more information on this exciting event!
If you are interested in partnering with us for NSTTW 2014, please contact Gail Vent at [email protected].
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The 2015 Skills Canada National Competition
Be a part of the action in 2015 and connect with tomorrow's labour force! Sponsorship opportunities are available by contacting Gail Vent at [email protected]
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New Team Canada Selection Process
Skills Canada recently announced the names of the 32 young men and women who will participate in the WorldSkills Canadian Trials taking place throughout Canada in January and February 2015. The selection is based on the highest ranked and age eligible medalist in each applicable contest area from the recent Skills Canada National Competition (SCNC), held in June, in Toronto.
At the upcoming WorldSkills Canadian Trials, competitors reaching pre-established Canadian standards will be named to WorldSkills Team Canada 2015 and will participate in the 43rd WorldSkills Competition, in S�o Paulo, in August 2015. The WorldSkills Canadian Trials represent a new step in the Team Canada selection process. Read more and see the list of competitors participating at the WorldSkills Canadian Trials.
WorldSkills S�o Paulo 2015
The Largest Skills Competition, Jobs and Careers Event in The World
The next WorldSkills Competition will be held in São Paulo, Brazil, from August 11-16, 2015, at the Anhembi Park. More than 1,000 competitors, 1,000 experts, 3,000 volunteers and over 200,000 visitors will be participating in this exciting event. At WorldSkills S�o Paulo, the world's most skilled young people will be competing in over 50 disciplines. For more information, visit www.worldskillssaopaulo2015.com.
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Join us for a Manufacturing Day Event!!
Sandvik Coromant will open its doors on October 3rd 2014 in support of Manufacturing Day 2014.
Contributed by: Sandvick Coromant
During your visit to Sandvik Coromant you will have the chance to participate in interactive seminars and see live state of the art CNC metal cutting machine demonstrations, in our Productivity Center. We will have machining specialists & engineers from Sandvik Coromant; as well as special guests from Skills Ontario, SME Canada, In-House Solutions & Edge Factor on hand to talk to students and instructors about the career pathways and the many opportunities in Manufacturing. To register.
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THE WORLD WILL GATHER IN NIAGARA FALLS IN 2016
During the WorldSkills General Assembly in Lucerne, Switzerland, Skills/Comp�tences Canada in conjunction with SkillsUSA were granted the hosting rights of the 2016 event.
After a productive week of discussions and decisions, the final meeting of the WorldSkills General Assembly 2014 included a presentation for the host of the WorldSkills General Assembly 2016.
Tim Lawrence, CEO of SkillsUSA co-presented the bid to host the meeting and had this to say about the plans for 2016, "SkillsUSA is extremely excited to be working in cooperation with Skills/Comp�tences Canada to bring the world to the 2016 meeting of WorldSkills General Assembly. Niagara Falls will offer Delegates a world class meeting venue, as well as an opportunity to tap into top industry, education and government leaders and experts from across North America." Read more. |
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Shell Canada Taps into Youth Insight to Attract Next Generation of Skilled Tradespeople
Leveraging Social Media Strategically and Having Creative Angle Key to Reaching Canada's Youth
Today, Skills/Comp�tences Canada released four dynamic campaign videos created by the participants of the 2014 National Youth Forum (NYF). Sponsored by Shell Canada, the 2014 NYF took place within the context of the Skills Canada National Competition earlier in the summer.
Led by a seasoned Skills Canada marketing facilitator, twelve young participants from across Canada worked in four teams to deliver social media marketing campaigns for Shell Canada. Over two days, participants were tasked with developing campaigns that would identify creative ways the oil and gas industry could harness social media to reach out to, recruit and raise awareness in skilled youth about employment opportunities. Read more.
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Where are they now?
In this new feature we check in with Team Canada (TC) alumni to see how the Skills Competitions influenced their career path. If you are a TC
alumni and would like to share your story, please email [email protected]!
Steven Heidel's Profil
Name: Steven Heidel
Trade Area:
IT Software Solutions for Business
Year that you competed at WorldSkills:
2011, in London, England
Where are you currently in your career?
I work as a software engineer for LinkedIn, in Silicon Valley
How has having competed in a WorldSkills Competition changed your career/life?
Representing Canada on the world stage is a once in a lifetime opportunity. It changed the way I looked at my own abilities and opened my aspirations to a more global level. The connections you make with other highly skilled individuals from around the world can be of great use later in your career.
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Industry News and Stories
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APPRENTICES- THE FUTURE OF CANADA
Contributed by: UA
The recent new s regarding the Government of Canada supporting apprentices and asking contractors to hire apprentices for work on federal government projects actually received negative comments from people!!!! How it is possible that people do not think that we need more trades workers to fill jobs with the industry in Canada when we are bringing in large numbers of foreign workers?
This was tried in the 1930s when there was a demand for all types of workers and the prevailing theory was to import them instead of training Canadians, and it resulted in all kinds of issues as a result. We have many people ready to retire and any form of succession planning would tell us that the time is now to get more apprentices to work and to replace the outgoing skilled workforce that our contractors demand from us across Canada. Read more.
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Interesting People in Trade and Technology Sectors
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Interview with Kevin Boodoo, Field Service Technician for Mitutoyo Canada
What made you decide to pursue a career in the skilled trades?
I have always been very mechanically inclined. Since I was a kid I love to take things apart to find out how they work and attempt to put them back together. Choosing a skilled trades career in the electro mechanical engineering field has definitely helped satisfy my desire to understand simple circuits to advanced PLC and robotic programs. Read more. |
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