Jobs in the skilled trades and technology are high-quality, well-paying and offer exciting careers for life. They can give you opportunities to advance to supervisory and management roles. You can even open your own business.
Canada’s television personality and professional contractor Mike Holmes knows about the importance of Skills Canada.
Shaun Thorson
Skills Canada is a national not-for-profit organization with offices in all of the provinces and territories. And, our goal is to promote trades and technological education for young people so to try and give students a better idea of what’s involved in those careers.
Mike Holmes
I don’t think anyone knows how important Skills Canada is. To me it is the beginning, it’s the temptation to get kids into the trades. Now I call them kids because I’m older, but the young, the next generation, just being part of it, the excitement in the air. Everyone just giving the determination—“I’m gonna make it, I’m gonna win”—that’s all about doing the best they can and doing what they love. Shaun Thorson Cody is one of those young people that has gone through the competition process through Skills Canada, starting at a school competition, a regional competition moving into provincials, nationals, and now he’s going to be representing Canada at the international competitions. So he has gone through this process and is now in preparation to represent Canada and be one of our Team Canada competitors in carpentry.
Mike Holmes
The very first day I was part of Skills Canada, I felt the excitement of the next generation going for gold. You know, from haircutting right down to working on airplanes, mechanics, carpenters, my field. This is something that needs to be, I think, more addressed. It needs to be groomed better. Okay, it’s cool now to be in the trades. It’s an opportunity of life as far as I’m concerned. And when I go to those events, I can’t believe the excitement. It just makes me want to come back and be there again.
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Blog: Encouraging Canada’s Next Generation in Skilled Trades and Technology