The recipient of this year’s Glenn Beatty Award is Wayne Lawrence of ECAO/IBEW, who has volunteered and supported the Skills Ontario Competition for over 15 years

Skills Ontario Career Exploration Events connect education, hands-on experience, and mentorship for female students in grades 7 to 12

Students in grades seven to 12 from across Ontario may be sailing their way to a career in the skilled trades and technologies.

Skills Ontario is proud to partner with Job Talks on a series of videos to promote careers in the skilled trades and technologies.

Each video in the series focuses on a specific trade area and features interviews with tradespeople to showcase the wide range of career possibilities open in the skilled trades and technologies in Ontario, including careers in management and training.

Competitors from over 60 countries will converge on Abu Dhabi, UAE, later this month from October 15-18 for the 44th annual WorldSkills Competition. Every two years, top competitors at the Skills Canada National Competition (SCNC) are selected for Team Canada to compete at the WorldSkills Competition against the best of their peers from around the world!

Engagement with students, teachers, parents, volunteers, employers, and mentors ensure our programs connect education, experience, and employment.

The Skills Ontario Alumni Association is working with youwear.ca to show what “Skills” look like!

We have some of the latest styles, including hoodies, tees, hats, and more! Apparel can be customized to have the name of your competition and/or your own name on it.

As you know, the Skills Ontario Board of Directors has announced the retirement of Gail Smyth as Executive Director of Skills Ontario. Gail had planned to retire later this year, but due to medical reasons decided to retire early, after leading the organization for over 20 years. The strong and dedicated team Gail built at Skills Ontario is well prepared to continue on the work she started.

Meet the Bennetts.

Two generations of Skills Ontario competitors who know skills from the trades are skills for life.

In 2012, Evan Veryerd snagged a silver medal in cabinet-making at the Skills Ontario Competition. Today, he is a woodworking instructor at Katarowki Aboriginal School in Kingston, ON.

“Based on how much I know the trades helped me build confidence and develop into the person I am today, I thought helping bring those same opportunities, in the form of focus programs, to students who otherwise wouldn’t have them, could make a real impact in their lives,” he said.