Huntsville High School student Wil MacLaren Sinclair won gold at the Skills Canada National Competition held in Winnipeg last month.
More than 500 students and apprentices from across the country competed for the title of national champion in 45 skill areas at the RBC Convention Centre. The complete list of medalists is available on the Skills Canada Website, under the results tab.
Wil’s journey to becoming the national electrical champion began in the HHS Building Construction classroom. “Wil was an outstanding student in his day-to-day construction course. Then, when March came around, we began training for the Skills Ontario competitions as an extracurricular club,” explained HHS Construction teacher David Lomas. HHS students competed in four school board competitions (electrical, individual carpentry, 2-person carpentry, and 4-person carpentry). Three of the four teams won for Huntsville and advanced to provincials in Toronto.
In Toronto, Wil and his peers competed against the best of every school board in the province. Wil won the competition, making him a part of Team Ontario. Teammate Oliver Walsh also nearly joined the team with a 2nd place finish in individual carpentry.
“I am incredibly proud of the accomplishments of Wil and all of the TLDSB students who competed at Skills Ontario. We had multiple gold medalists for the first time ever! Wil and I travelled with Team Ontario to Winnipeg to compete against the top high school students across the country. As a grade 10 student, he was up against a majority of senior students from ten different provinces,” explained Lomas.
Wil competed in the Electrical Installations. It was a two-day competition where students installed a variety of complicated household electrical circuits including smoke alarms, thermostats, relays, and heaters. All circuits had to be installed properly, safely, and functionally, and meet the Canadian Electrical Code.
Lomas said in preparation for the Skills Canada competition, Wil had a team of additional teachers and coaches including local electricians, a trainer from the electrical union, and a local electrical safety officer.
“We are all proud of Wil and his accomplishments this year. He plans to compete again at Skills next year,” added Lomas. “We at HHS plan to continue to grow our skills team and promote the skilled trades to our students.”
Approximately 250 medals were awarded to the top competitors in six skilled trade and technology sectors, including transportation, construction, manufacturing and engineering, information technology, services, and employment. The competitors were evaluated based on strict industry standards.
During the event, more than 12,000 student visitors, industry leaders, government officials and industry celebrities were in attendance to take part in some of the onsite activities such as the Skills Symposium, Skills Showcase featuring First Nations, Inuit and Métis Skills, the Empowering Women in the Trades initiative and over 50 Try-A-Trade® and Technology activities. Celebrities included Kate Campbell, Founder of Kate’s Contracting Inc. and Jamie McMillan, Founder of KickAss Careers, both strong advocates for women in skilled trades, and Mark Brand, Pioneer Chef and Entrepreneur.
The goal of Skills Canada National Competition is to engage Canadian youth and promote all of the rewarding careers that are available to them in the skilled trades and technologies. It is the only national multi-trade and technology event of its kind for young students and apprentices in the country.
“Events like the Skills Canada National Competition encourage Canadian youth to discover skilled trade and technology careers through interactive activities, and find their passion. It also allows us to raise awareness of these important and lucrative careers to our future skilled workforce,” said Shaun Thorson, Chief Executive Officer, Skills/Compétences Canada.
According to RBC’s ‘Powering Up’ report, which studied the current state of Canada’s skilled trades industry, the country will face a shortage of thousands of skilled trade workers by 2026. The RBC Foundation, powered through RBC Future Launch, awarded young Canadians from each province and territory with a 2023 RBC ‘Best of Region’ Award at the Skills Canada National Competition on May 27. The $1,500 award recognizes these young leaders as they continue their education, training and profile within the skilled trades.
This event is supported by the Government of Canada, as well as UA Canada, Cenovus Energy and Apprenticeship Manitoba. The 2024 Skills Canada National Competition will be held at ExpoCité, in Québec City, Québec, on May 30 and 31, 2024.
thermostat and a two-door doorbell system
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These skill jobs are now well paid and in demand . Great work Wil
Congratulations. You won’t have any trouble finding a well paid job.