Canadian Competitions Encourage a Career in the Trades

Local 2 Alberta member Josh Short won the 2001 Skills Canada National Masonry Competition.

Skills Canada, a national not-for-profit organization, works with labour unions, educators, employers, and government to position the trades and technical vocations as first choice career options for young Canadians. Through a series of youth competitions across the nation, Skills Canada is working to raise awareness of the skilled trades. Students compete at local, regional, and provincial events to win the right to represent their province at the national level. The Canadian Skills Competition is the first stage in building Team Canada for the World Skills Competition hosted every two years.

Canadian citizens and permanent residents of Canada are eligible for one of two levels of competition. Secondary Level Competition requires attendance in a secondary-level school at any time between July 1st of the year following the last Canadian Skills Competition, and the start date of the Canadian Skills Competition. Secondary-level competitors must also be less than 22 years of age on December 31st of the year of the competition. At the time of the competition, Post-Secondary/ Apprentice Level competitors cannot be certified as journeypersons in the contest area in which they wish to compete.