Calendar
Scholarships and Awards
Each year, we offer a number of scholarships and awards to honour outstanding educators and to help youth find, and pursue, their passion in the skilled trades and technologies. We offer individual grants for tools and post-secondary education, as well as institutional grants for large-scale school projects.
The Skills Ontario Gail Smyth Scholarship
Awards for Educators, Mentors and Volunteers
For Skills Ontario Competition Competitors:
Skills Ontario Gail Smyth Scholarship
This scholarship is named after Gail Smyth, retired executive director of Skills Ontario, in recognition of the many years of service and dedication that Gail has given to Skills Ontario. Gail was the executive director until her retirement in 2017. Gail had and still has a tremendous amount of affection for Skills Ontario.
Gail first became involved with Skills Ontario as a volunteer in 1990, immersing herself in numerous roles and responsibilities. She was appointed executive director, a full-time position, in 1997. She took a fledgling venture to become a dynamic, province-wide organization.
In the beginning, two programs were offered across Ontario: the Ontario Technological Skills Competition, and Cardboard Boat Races, with a total outreach of approximately 3,000 students.
Today, now known as the Skills Ontario Competition, it has grown into the largest of its kind in Canada, attracting over 47,000+ visitors every year. In fact, the Skills Ontario Competition is so popular with students that seven of the 75+ contests require contestants to first earn their eligibility at provincial qualifying competitions.
Many other programs have taken flight under Gail’s leadership, such as the highly sought-after-in-school presentation delivered in both official languages to over 130,000 students a year. The year-long calendar of events also includes young women’s regional conferences, the young women’s conference held at the Skills Ontario Competition, summer camps, the First Nations, Métis and Inuit (FNMI) conferences and Trade and Tech Days, and a new offering, the junk drawer races which replaced the Cardboard Boat Races.
Skills Ontario has come a long way from the early days when Gail first took the helm; building the organization into a vibrant and impactful organization that now reaches over one million students every year.
Skills Ontario honours all the love, enthusiasm, and work that Gail Smyth has put into the organization and are proud to name the Skills Ontario Scholarship after her.
Check out this exciting opportunity to receive a $1,000 scholarship from Skills Ontario! Each year, this scholarship is awarded to students on their way to post-secondary education to pursue a career in the skilled trades and technologies.
Scholarship Eligibility
1. You possess a Canadian citizenship or landed immigrant status and you are an Ontario resident.
2. You must have earned high school credits any time during the current school year (September 2023 to June 2024) and will graduate in the spring, summer, or fall of 2024.
3. You received a bronze, silver, or gold medal at the provincial competition (2024 Skills Ontario Competition.)
4. You are pursuing a post-secondary education as an apprentice or through a post-secondary institution within the Province of Ontario.
Submission Process
• Include two letters of reference from teachers at the high school you attended along with proof of volunteer work/community services.
• Return your completed application, two letters of reference, and proof of volunteer work/community services postmarked no later than August 2, 2024 to: Gael Loro, gloro@skillsontario.com
For Educators, Volunteers and Mentors:
Glenn Beatty Award
Glenn Beatty was a participant in the CAD, CAM, CNC contests and a Gold medal winner in the 1997 Skills Ontario Ontario Competition. After that, he moved on to the National Competition in Alberta, where he won yet another Gold medal. His consecutive wins made him the perfect candidate for a job in his field and he was quickly snatched up by ATS Automation Tooling Systems in Cambridge, Ontario.
Always grateful for the kickstart to his career, Glenn returned to Skills Ontario in 1998, only this time, he did so as a volunteer. Tragically, in early 1999, Glenn lost his life in motor vehicle accident. Those who knew him mourned the loss of a kind young man with limitless potential.
As a tribute, each year, Skills Ontario presents the Glenn Beatty Award to a volunteer - or volunteers - who embody the same dedication and passion for Skills Ontario as Glenn did.
To nominate a Skills Ontario volunteer for this award, we ask for a letter of nomination that includes:
- Full name, address, and email address of volunteer(s)
- Background of volunteer(s)
- Relationship with Skills Ontario
- Years of volunteering along with what they have volunteered in (Young Women’s, Cardboard Boat Races, Skills Ontario Competition, etc., and timeframes)
- Why you feel this person should receive this award.
To nominate someone for the Glenn Beatty Award, please send a letter of nomination to Gael Loro, either through email at gloro@skillsontario.com, or through mail sent to the attention of Gael Loro, addressed to 60 Northland Road, Unit 7A, Waterloo, Ontario, N2V 2B8.
Deadline: October 18, 2024.
Dick Hopkins Award
There's nothing quite like a teacher to inspire a young person to tap into their potential. With energy and enthusiasm, they'll nudge and guide their students to achieve great things.
Dick Hopkins was such a teacher. A technology educator at Napanee and Sydenham high schools, as well as Queen’s University Faculty of Education, Dick was a man who believed in his students and encouraged the skilled trades as a first-choice career option. And to start their careers off on the right foot, he encouraged them to enter into the Skills Ontario Competition.
Dick passed away suddenly in October 2002. In his honour, the Ontario Council for Technology Education (OCTE) and Skills Ontario initiated an annual Award of Excellence for an outstanding technological educator.
There's no better way to honour a teacher who has made a significant impact in your career than to nominate them today! Nominations are due March 28, 2025.
Skills Ontario Alumni Award
The Skills Ontario Alumni Award honours and recognizes an individual who is dedicated to upholding their knowledge and experience with the Skills Ontario Competition as a past competitor who placed in a National or WorldSkills Competition; someone who passes this to others to grow, learn and evolve; who believes in and supports Skills Ontario’s mission for development; and who has grown and excelled in their chosen trade, and is a role model in their field.
If you or someone you know would like to nominate a Skills Ontario Alumni for the Alumni Award, please fill out the nomination package below and submit to gloro@skillsontario.com.
Deadline: TBD
For Schools:
The School Board Award of Distinction
The School Board Award of Distinction is presented to the School Board that shows dedication to the promotion of skilled trades and technology careers.
To determine which school board receives this award, we look to their students who compete at the Skills Ontario Competition. Each secondary-school competitor in the top ten ranking, who scores over 60 per cent, earns points for their school board. The award is presented annually to the school board with the highest score.
Receiving this award is a sign of a school board’s continued commitment to supporting students interested in pursuing a wide range of careers in the skilled trades and technologies. Hands-on learning is necessary within Ontario to ensure we have a healthy and stable workforce for the future, and school boards receiving this award are leading the way to ensure this will happen.
The College Award of Distinction
Colleges across Ontario play a fundamental role in preparing tomorrow’s workforce with the hands-on education required to pursue careers in the skilled trades and technologies. With the College Award of Distinction, Skills Ontario acknowledges a college that has demonstrated commitment to this initiative, made significant investments to the skilled trades and technologies and strived for excellence in the classroom, shop and competition site.
To determine which college will receive the yearly award, we take the results from student performances at the Skills Ontario Competition and look to the college’s volunteerism and involvement in Skills Ontario events such as the Career Exploration Showcase, Young Women’s Initiatives, and Skills Ontario Summer Camps. The award is presented at the Closing Cermonies of the Skills Ontario Competition.
