By Sean Slaven
Toronto, Ontario — May 21, 2019 — In this week’s Wednesday Wisdom, industry training advocate, and friend-of-the-magazine Sean Slaven of Absolute Solutions explains why he feels Canada’s collision community should be excited for next week’s Skills Canada National Competition in Halifax–and more supportive of Skills Canada in general.
A non-profit that promotes the development of young people’s interest in technology and skilled trades, including auto repair and auto painting, Skills Canada was founded in 1994. One of its major initiatives is the annual Skills Canada National Competition, a cross-country event that brings young people together for competitive displays of their many trade-related talents.
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If you get a chance to attend the Skills Canada National Competition, which is being held in Halifax, N.S. from May 28 and 29, make sure to go to the closing ceremonies—it won’t disappoint.
I attended the closing ceremonies in Winnipeg two years ago. The energy, excitement and the pride on display took my breath away—it was sort of like a small Olympics. All I could say was “wow.”
Unfortunately, the Skills competitions at all levels seem to be too often overlooked by the collision industry. It has been running for over 25 years yet very few shop people know it even exists–which is a real shame as it is directly linked to the collision industry.
There is an evident general lack of knowledge about the competitions and a lack of support for the competitors from the collision community. The community really should be supporting this amazing event.
I hope one day this will change—and with that change, a spotlight will be put on a highly skilled trade, giving it the recognition has so long deserved.
Go Canada!
