Peacock students hone their skills at provincial competition

The 21st installment of the provincial Skills Canada competition welcomed over 400 competitors to Saskatoon and Regina on Apr. 12 to showcase their skills in various trades; nine of those students were from A.E. Peacock Collegiate. 

Joel Robinson, one of the teachers who accompanied the group, said the students chosen each demonstrated exceptional skill in their category. While only one student placed, Desiree Rader with a bronze medal in Fashion Technology, the experience was rewarding for all of the competitors who traveled to the event. 

Only one representative from each school is permitted to enter the provincial level competition, but there isn’t room for a student from every school to attend, which makes it slightly difficult to make the cut.

“It's quite narrow to get students in on the competitions. And then to also have a student that's prepared and ready to go is often a bit of a task, but Peacock always has good representation at it,” said Robinson.

The Skills Canada competition seeks to encourage students to view their skills in a new light, focusing on the future and the opportunities available in the trades. This mandate falls nicely in line with the programs that Peacock offers, said Robinson.

“At Peacock, we promote trades and skills quite heavily here because of the facility that we have and the programs that we offer students. We encourage students to try and strive for quality in all their work,” said Robinson. “Working towards something like the Skills Canada competitions demands that students keep themselves at a high standard and work towards quality, complete projects.”

“There's a lot of room for error in a curricular class at a high school because students are brand new to it. This competition demands that students are experienced and have quality in their work,” said Robinson. “[And the time constraints] add additional pressure to students, which isn't a bad thing as it gives them a bit more of a genuine feeling as to what working in the industry is like, as opposed to just working in a classroom.”

In Saskatoon, Eli Ventzek, Olivia Mowchenko, Sierra Schulties, and Inga Tittemore competed in the TV Production category and Carter Smith in Welding. Meanwhile, in Regina, Landon Schire and Jaxton Kurz competed in Auto Body Painting, and Josh Werner in Auto Body Repair.

The experience of the competition is meant to really expose students to the trades in a more realistic setting than a classroom.

“It helps students kind of push themselves and try to work out of the box and think on their own,” said Robinson. “[During competition], I'm not allowed to coach my students through difficult situations. It's all on their own.”