A number of students from St. Paul Regional High School found themselves as top 10 finishers at the Provincial Skills Canada Alberta competition, which took place in Edmonton from May 9 to 11.
“The results from Skills Canada this year were outstanding,” according to Connie Landsiedel, a CTS instructor at St. Paul Regional High School, that attended the competition with students.
“Everyone here . . . is very proud of all of the students who went to the provincial competitions. I think this is the first time we have had this many students place in the top ten at the provincial level.”
In order to compete at the provincial event, most students had to place near the top at the North East Regional Skills Canada Competition, held in Lac La Biche in March. Placing in first or second gave students a ticket to attend the provincial competition.
When all was said and done, students were clearly exhausted by the time and effort spent at the Edmonton event, said Landsiedel. Two students finished in sixth place, including Devan Bailey in welding; and Spencer Graling in public speaking. While Graling didn’t have to compete at the North East Regional competition to attend, he was put on a wait list, and only knew at the last minute that he would be competing.
Landsiedel says she was impressed with the effort shown by students while competing at Skills Canada. The results “really shows how much extra time and effort these students are willing to give to practice, and do their best at the provincial level.”
Other results from the provincial competition include: Noah Villard, who finished eighth overall in carpentry; Emily Bouchard finished in ninth place in baking; and Shelby-Lynn Bailey finished in 11th place in junior hairstyling. Emily Shapka also competed, and finished in 21st place in culinary arts.
Landsiedel says she continues to support students’ involvement in the Skills Canada events because it teaches them “life skills.” Sometimes, students compete in areas that they want to pursue as a future career, while other times it’s simply an area that interests them.
Either way, if students can write on their resume that they were chosen to represent their school at the provincial level, it doesn’t matter how high they placed, it’s still something to be proud of, says Landsiedel.
When students returned to school after the competition, they were clearly proud of the hard work put in. Many came to class wearing their Skills Canada t-shirts.
“You could tell they were proud,” says Landsiedel, adding, most students have already said they want to go again.
