Cambridge Student One of Six in Ontario to Make Team Canada

Will represent Canada at WorldSkills Skilled Trades Competition

Being the best at something has its rewards, like earning a trip to London, England, or having high-level politicians literally applaud your efforts. For six Ontariostudents, these adventures are all part of their exciting career journeys in the skilled trades  and technologies, and just one more notch in their relatively new toolbelts. Having won gold medals at both the Ontario Technological Skills Competition (OTSC) and the subsequent Canadian Skills Competition, half a dozen “Team Ontario” members will join 29 other select students from across Canada to advance to next year’s prestigious WorldSkills competition in  London, UK. The Ontario contingent are: Ryan Gomes of Cambridge for Aircraft maintenance; Tyler Hackney of St. Thomas for CNC Turning; Tom Middlebro’ of Guelph for Offset Printing; Jonathan Sinke of Jordan Station for Cabinetmaking; and Almonte natives Benjamin Church and Adrian Schut for Mobile Robotics (Team of Two). Still in high school, the youngest Team Ontario members, Benjamin and Adrian, are just 16 years old. Their teammates are all young adults enrolled in Ontario college programs. In a society that is woefully short of skilled tradespeople, staff at Skills Canada – Ontario recognized the need to celebrate these students’ accomplishment by arranging for the six to be introduced in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario on November 1st, the first day of Skilled Trades and Technologies Week in Canada. The students were also feted at an evening reception at Sutton Place Hotel where such dignitaries as The Honourable Leona Dombrowsky, Minister of Education, and The Honourable John Milloy, Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities were in attendance. “What better way to draw attention to the world of possibilities that exist in more than 150 career options in the skilled trades,” says Skill Canada – Ontario’s executive director Gail Smyth. “It is so rewarding for us to see the success stories and cheer on our contestants, from the 1800 talented competitors at the OTSC to the cream of the crop who make it to the world stage. We couldn’t be more proud.”