ST. PAUL – Two students from St. Paul clinched the bronze medals at the annual Skills Canada national competitions from May 23 to 27 in Winnipeg.
Over 500 apprentices and students from across Canada competed in 45 skill areas at the RBC Convention Centre for the national titles.
Secondary Level
In the Secondary Level’s Carpentry category, Grade 12 student Logan Peters from St. Paul Regional claimed the bronze medal for the province, facing off against 12 contestants.
It was no easy task for Peters, who said that competing against the best was “stressful,” and “you got to try and put that behind you” during the competition.
Hank Smid, his coach who flew with him to Winnipeg, is proud of Peters. “What he accomplished is very exciting,” he said, adding the achievement of his student is among the most memorable moments of his teaching career.
He said Peters “got a lot of work done,” and his “measurements were spot on.” Peters’ accurate measurements, according to Smid, played a big part with grabbing the bronze.
Smid added the experience was a “great learning opportunity” for both, having had the opportunity to meet different people from across the country. For Smid, he talked to many coaches, teachers, and judges, and was also witness to a variety of industry trades and education offered by other schools.
“I’m very excited for Logan and how this can translate into his career choice,” said Smid, hoping Peters can compete once more in Skills Canada in the post-secondary level upon his graduation from high school.
When asked what’s next, Peters said he hopes to attend Lakeland College and study carpentry, as well as to represent the school in Skills Canada in the future.
Post-Secondary Level
Logan Gratton, who works at CSN Black Ace, an auto-body shop based in St. Paul, also snatched the bronze medal in the Autobody Repair category. Gratton competed in the post-secondary level, representing the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT).
In addition to representing his school, it is also “a great feeling to come back and represent my shop,” said Gratton. This would also be Gratton’s first Skills Canada competition.
While he felt nervous at the beginning, his confidence came out, recalling his training at NAIT and also what he learned from the CSN Black Ace team. “All the guys in the shop... they’ve trained me from day one, and Corwin [Robinson] has been giving me all the jobs that we need to learn and succeed.”
Robinson is the owner/operator of CSN Black Ace, stating he gives “all our young guys a lot of drive,” and to get that drive, they have to do certain jobs as it also keeps them interested while enjoying the experience. For Logan, “we feel he’s got the competence to take on those jobs.”
Everybody helps each other at the shop, said Robinson. Speaking of skills development, he also noted guiding others at the shop with experimenting on different projects, allowing them the practice and experience to do well – rather than have them remain on smaller entry-level jobs and not progress.
This also translates well to competitions such as Skills Canada, according to Robinson, which helped Peters compete at such a high level, for example. “We’ve got three apprentices here that went though Skills Canada competitions,” he added, including Dorien Lozeau who competed at the 2022 World Skills competition held in Denmark.
Gratton’s own brother, Blake Gratton, also competed at the provincial level, last year.
Robinson encouraged others, particularly the youth, to strive to be the best no matter the trade they’re in. For example, “Logan Peters... winning the bronze at the high school level. That’s pretty huge for a high school student, right?”
When asked what’s next for Gratton, he said he’s still in his first-year, so he has another opportunity to compete again for 2024 Skill’s Canada competition that will be held in May next year. “I feel a lot more confident... and hopefully, get a better placement.”
Overall, Alberta also took home 38 medals which includes 15 gold medallists.
