Mohawk well represented at Skills Ontario, Skills Canada
Mohawk College students tested their training on the provincial and national stages recently.
Students from a number of Mohawk skilled trades and training programs excelled when Skills Ontario and Skills Canada recently brought together hundreds of college students to showcase their talents and training in skills competitions.
The college was well represented at Skills Ontario, Canada's largest skilled trade and technology competition, May 6-8 at the Toronto Congress Centre in Etobicoke. The Skills Ontario competition offers students a unique opportunity to demonstrate that they are the best of the best in their fields. Over three days, they compete to win gold, silver or bronze medals and winners have the opportunity to compete at the Skills Canada National Competition. Six Mohawk competitors garnered medals in Etobicoke and one Mountaineer, Kurtis Vink, moved on to compete on the national stage at Skills Canada in Halifax, from May 28-29.
Skills Canada performance lands top-5 ranking
Kurtis Vink, a first-year student in the General Machinist Apprenticeship program, won Gold in precision machining at Skills Ontario, and earned a spot to compete at Skills Canada.
"I had previously competed in Skills Ontario at the high school level for Welding in 2016 and 2017, so I knew what to expect at the competition in regards to the format and its expectations," says Vink. "It was a great opportunity to visit a part of Canada that I have not been to before and to meet people from all across Canada. The Skills Ontario and Canada Competitions have boosted my confidence and shows employers that I have the skills and postitive attitude required for my trade."
In the two-day competition in Halifax, Vink finished fifth overall in a very tight competition. He was in the running for the top-three spots right until his final cut. In the end, Vink landed just two points out of third place, and 10 points behind the eventual winner.
“Kurtis competed admirably,” says Adam Taylor, Program Coordinator of the General Machinist Apprenticeship program, who accompanied Vink to Halifax. “We learned a lot in the competition.”
Skills Ontario results
Mohawk College students earned hardware in other Skills Ontario categories earlier in May. A list of their achievements is below.
GOLD – Precision Machining – Kurtis Vink
GOLD – Computer Aided Manufacturing – Brody Huk
SILVER – Horticulture and Landscape Team(2) - Thomas VanAmerongen & Daniel Wanders
SILVER – Photography - Alexis Burton
BRONZE – Truck and Coach Mechanic - Xavier Rongits
BRONZE – Aircraft Maintenance - Lloyd Smith
Medal Design Competition - Sarah Bullard – Winner
Pin Design Competition - Nur Ikhwan & Mohd Fadzil – Winner
Congratulations to our medallists, and to all the students who competed at Skills Ontario, representing Mohawk College.