Hilltop students represent Whitecourt at Skills Canada at both the Regional and Provincial level

 

Skills Canada is a Canadian non-profit organization that is dedicated to promoting careers in technology and skilled trades to students in both high school and post-secondary institutions. Each year, it holds a country-wide competition that allows students to compete within their chosen fields. The Olympic-style competition progresses from the Regional level through the Provincial level to the National finals.

Several Hilltop students competed in the Northwest Region. Photography teacher Derek Schlosser brought five of his students to Regionals and they did very well. Freddie Moore and Kjell Granley placed bronze in Video, Jayden Greenwood attended for Photo, Kyle Molnar won gold for Photo, and Hunter Cartwright and Daniel Hutyra won gold in Video.

Cosmetology teacher Evelyn Cartwright brought four students to Regionals. Savannah Mccaffery and Hannah Clarke competed in braiding while Montana Blackstock and Ashlee Underwood competed in the bridal hair category. It was Ashlee’s second year competing and after not placing in Regionals last year, she won gold this year which enabled her to compete at the Provincial level where she placed eighth out of 22. “She did fantastic,” said Cartwright.

Students who won their categories at Regionals in March and April were sent off to Provincials in May to compete against winners from the other 20+ regions in the province. Kyle had a great showing, finishing 10th out of 22 students, and Hunter and Daniel finished 11th out of 12. The pair submitted a hilarious video that everyone including the judges enjoyed but they wanted them to work on a couple of things.

“Everyone else’s videos were super serious, documentary style trying to promote skills and ours was just funny. They showed each video in sequence in a public screening with over 100 people watching and ours was shown third. Everyone was laughing, the judges, too. They just wanted us to work on certain elements such as autofocus and audio, but they enjoyed themselves,” explained Hunter. Both plan on focusing on technology as careers with Hunter attending SAIT in the fall and Daniel looking to get into Computer Engineering.

This is the third year Hilltop students have competed in either the Photo or Video categories and the second year in Cosmetology. Sadie Bounds also attended Provincials after qualifying straight through because her category, Public Speaking, didn’t have a Regional level. For her first time attending, Sadie had a great showing placing 9th.

Teachers speak with students earlier in the year and gauge which students are both interested and able to compete at that level. “They have to be willing to put in the time because it’s a big commitment. It’s after school, during lunchtime, or flex blocks. If they’re willing, I’ll absolutely work with them,” said Mrs. Cartwright.

“I think we’ve done really well. I think we’ve raised the bar and brought the profile of Skills Canada to Whitecourt which is cool. We’re getting more and more kids who want to go now which is good. It’s very much bringing the trades into the forefront and making kids aware of them,” said Schlosser.

Regionals took place in Fairview and Provincials took place in Edmonton at the Expo Centre. During Provincials, there was a large booth layout of around 50 different trades giving both students and the public an understanding of what’s available as a career. Each booth featured something for attendees to try. Congratulations to all students who competed.