Dual credit students from Brooks Secondary School and Vancouver Island University (VIU) carved out some impressive wins at the Skills Canada BC Regional Competition for Mid-Vancouver Island in Nanaimo, March 8.
“We walked away with three-quarters of the medals,” said Troy Marshall, coordinator of dual credit programs for School District 47 and VIU. “We won seven medals from the 13 contestants we took down there.”
Five instructors from the dual credit programs attended the event and they also took the pre-trades grade 10 class.
The annual competition includes the communities of Cowichan, Nanaimo, Parksville and Qualicum.
Powell River students competed in five areas: carpentry, welding, culinary arts, hairdressing and cabinet making. This was the first year Powell River hairdressing students participated in the event.
During competition, students are given a scope document and a time limit to complete a project that displays the skills that they have learned in their area. Judges then examine the projects and give scores.
Peter Lavergren won gold for carpentry and Tristan Kinahan won gold for welding. Both competitors advance to Skills Canada BC provincials. Ben Green won bronze for carpentry and Keaton George won bronze for welding. In culinary arts, Taylor Bleaney won silver and Dakota Whalley took bronze. Courtney Treloar won silver in hairdressing.
“We have been going to these competitions now for several years and our competitors always come out on top in the regional competitions,” said Jim Palm, career coordinator for dual credit programs.
The event, organized by Skills Canada BC, is a qualifying round for the provincial competition held in Abbotsford on April 17.
Last year Ben Perrault won gold in carpentry at the regional event and then went on to win gold at the provincials and silver at the national competition.
“It’s a little nerve-racking for the students first time out, but they all manage to come shining through,” said Palm. “It’s a really great reflection of the programs we’re running.”
