Camosun and South Island schools produce winners in Skills Competitions
June 3, 2010
Congratulations are in order for three south Island secondary students and one high school trades teacher who proved they know their stuff when it comes to skills in trades!
- Provincial Gold in Automotive Service Technician to David Hind from Cowichan Secondary
- Ford’s Automotive Teacher of the Year to Ryan Gough at Cowichan Secondary
- Provincial Silver and National Bronze in Carpentry to Darcy Rhodes, graduate of Stelly’s Secondary and now a 4th year apprentice at Camosun
- Provincial Gold and National Bronze in Automotive Collision Repair to Jay Kendrick-Cook from Victoria High School
Through the South Island Partnership, Camosun works closely with the five south Island school districts to give high school students opportunities to learn and excel in a wide range of skilled trades. On March 26, Camosun hosted the Skills Canada BC South Vancouver Island Regional competition, to determine who would advance to the provincial contest, representing the south Island. Besides looking darned impressive on the resumé, this is a huge opportunity for students, because a provincial gold takes them next to the National Skills competition, and if they capture gold there, it’s on to the World’s!
The winners’ stories
Automotive Service Technician
David Hind is a grade 12 student at Cowichan Secondary in the Cowichan Valley school district. After winning the gold medal in Automotive Service Technician at the 2010 South Island regional competition, David followed up with a provincial gold medal in the 2010 Skills Canada BC competition, held in Abbotsford April 21. His next contest at the national level didn’t lead to a medal, but it was a fabulous learning experience to go skill-to-skill with the top 13 competitors in the country.
David also has another achievement to add to his resumé after winning the annual Ford Secondary School Student competition. The Ford competition also named David’s teacher, Ryan Gough, Automotive Teacher of the Year, and presented Cowichan Secondary’s automotive program with a new Ford Focus for training purposes.
Cowichan Secondary offers an automotive service training program in partnership with Camosun College. This summer David will get a head start on his career by completing Level 1 Apprenticeship technical training in Automotive Service Technician.
Provincial Gold and National Bronze winner in Carpentry, Darcy Rhodes, receiving his medal and congratulations from Mike Holmes, of HGTV's Holmes on Homes.
Carpentry
Darcy Rhodes is a 4th year Carpentry apprentice taking his technical training at Camosun College, and employed as a crew foreman by Oceanview Construction. After winning a Silver medal at the Skills Canada BC provincial competition in April, he went on to capture the Bronze at the Skills Canada national competition in Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario.
Darcy got a head start in carpentry at Stelly’s Secondary by completing his first year apprenticeship training in a partnership program with Camosun College, funded by the Industry Training Authority’s ACE-IT program. That’s not all: Dad Stu Rhodes is a carpenter too, who now teaches and counsels students about how to get into a trade and pursue an apprenticeship. With the coaching of Camosun instructor Al van Akker and support from carpenter/teacher Dad, Darcy has a great start on his career in the construction industry.
Automotive Collision Repair Technician
Jay Kendrick-Cook is in grade 11 at Victoria High School, and after winning the provincial gold, went on to represent BC at the National Skills Canada Competition in Kitchener Waterloo. Jay won the national bronze medal in the automotive collision repair contest, competing against 13 top competitors in the country. The two-day event required competitors to complete several autobody repair tasks to the highest standards as ranked by industry experts.
Jay Kendrick-Cook welds the body of an automotive frame as he competes in the timed Skills Canada national competition.
Jay has been taking automotive repair courses at Vic High for the last year and a half, learning basic automotive repair skills. The Victoria High School Automotive Collision Repair program is the only one of its kind on Vancouver Island and they are opening their doors to students throughout the region. Offered during second semester through a partnership with Vancouver Community College, the program provides students with Level 1 technical training and linkages with local automotive collision repair employers. For more information on this program and how to get started while in high school contact Kevin Blecic at kblecic@sd61.bc.ca.
Along with in-school training, Jay is learning about working in the industry through work experience that his teacher, Kevin Blecic, helped to set up with Continental Autobody. Under the direction of a certified automotive collision repair technician, Jay gets on-the-job training, an opportunity to try out the skills he has learned in school, and an introduction to the industry—a great start to a career in this field.
Congratulations to all the winners and participants!
