Lyon, France — The WorldSkills Lyon 2024 international skills competition concluded this past weekend, where two Canadians showed the results of expert training.
Gabrielle Leclerc competed for Canada in the car painting category and ended with a score of 654. Cecile Bukmeier, auto body chair for the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT), delivered Leclerc with expert training throughout her WorldSkills journey.
When Collision Repair asked Leclerc what drove her to car painting, she said she simply followed her passion.
“I’ve been painting for two years now,” she told Collision Repair in June, while competing in the SATA WorldSkills Challenge in Ontario. “I started car painting during COVID. I was bored and wanted new challenges. I’ve been into cars since I was a little kid. I just followed my passion, really.”
She added that WorldSkills has been a stellar opportunity to make her name in the industry.
“WorldSkills has allowed me many opportunities. It’s opened a lot of doors for me. It’s been a great experience—meeting new people and practicing my skills.”
James Bartel, hailing from Manitoba, was “just shy” of the Medal of Excellence, said his expert trainer, Bill Speed.
“James’ finish was the highest I’ve seen, out of the four competitors I’ve trained for the last four competitions. He was the youngest competitor in our competition and worked at a level far above his 18 years.”
At 18 years old, James had a plan to approach the five projects—and Speed confirmed the young technician worked his plan to a tee.
Bartel ended with 13th place and a score of 686 among 18 competitors.
“Overall, I am very pleased with the outcome and I look forward to seeing what Canada can do at WorldSkills Shanghai in 2026,” added Speed.
