Based on their success at the Skills Canada National Competition on June 6th-7th, 2015 in Moncton, NB, competitors qualified to become a member of WorldSkills Team Canada that competed at the 44th WorldSkills Competition Oct 14-19 in Abu Dhabi, UAE.
Brock Chiasson
- Trade: Mobile Robotics
- School: Yorkton Regional High School
- Hometown: Yorkton, Saskatchewan
- Age: 18
“I chose this trade because it interests me and I know it will be challenging work. The previous success of my family in mobile robotics struck me and made me want to become involved in this activity and compete at Skills Canada competitions. “
- I became involved with Skills Canada through my older brother, a previous World Skills Competitor in mobile robotics, and my dad who is part of Team Canada in the role of Expert in mobile robotics. They have both travelled the world for skills competitions and have achieved much success and so I was eager to get involved.
- Interesting fact about Brock: during his spare time, he enjoys disc golf.
- I believe that working with others and continuous learning are the most important Essential Skills to have to compete successfully in mobile robotics. We must work as a team of two and therefore rely on each other for this competition. We also need to learn new programs to complete our tasks during the competition.
Results
- Brock Chiasson/ Shaun Furber – Mobile Robotics – Medallion of Excellence – 7th overall
Competition History
- Skills Canada Saskatchewan Provincial Competition 2015
- Skills Canada Saskatchewan Provincial Competition 2016
- Skills Canada National Competition 2015, Gold
- Skills Canada National Competition 2016, Gold, Qualified as a Team Canada 2017 Prospect
Training History
- Participated in EuroSkills 2016 in Gothenburg, Sweden
- World Skills Team Canada Trials: December 1-3, 2016 EuroSkills 2016 in Gothenburg, Sweden
Daniel Nelson
- Trade: Electrical Installations
- School: Saskatchewan Polytechnic, Regina Campus
- Employer: Joe’s Electric
- Hometown: Regina, Saskatchewan
- Age: 19
“I have always found the trades to be an interesting field of work and I love working with my hands. A few of my cousins and my uncle were electricians therefore that was always in the back of my mind when I was deciding on my future career. During high school, I took an electrical course and when I graduated from that course I knew I wanted to be an electrician.”
- I hope to become a journeyman electrician and open my own electrical company one day.
- Interesting fact about Daniel: one of his favorite hobbies is playing the guitar.
- Continuous learning is a key Essential Skill for a career in electrical installations. The reason for this is that there are always updates to the electrical code that you need to learn to keep your skills sharp in this field.
Results
- Electrical Wiring – 21st overall
Competition History
- Skills Saskatchewan Provincial Competition
- Skills Canada National Competition 2016
Training History
- Participated in Euroskills 2016 in Gothenburg, Sweden
- World Skills Team Canada Trials: Sask Polytechnic, January 20-23, 2017
Jun Zheng
- Trade: Web Design
- School: University of Toronto
- Hometown: Saskatoon
- Age: 18
“I have been interested in technology since I was young, and seeing people build things is fascinating to me. This had led me to learn computer programming. My goal is to become a researcher in the field of computer science, specifically in the field of artificial intelligence.”
- I got involved in the 2015 Skills Canada National Competition, however, I did not medal that year. I practiced a lot over the course of the following year and finally won the gold medal at SCNC 2016!
- Interesting fact about Jun: most of my work is done in pen and paper. I need to design and think about the structure of the program before doing any of the actual coding on my computer.
- I believe the following Essential Skills are instrumental in my field: – Numeracy: computer programming is all about numbers and logic.
- Continuous learning: technology is ever involving, therefore, this is an Essential Skill for any computer programmer
- Reading text: you must be able to understand what the client wants to be successful.
Results
- Medallion of Excellence – 10th overall placement
Competition History
- Skills Saskatchewan Provincial Competition 2016
- Skills Canada National Competition 2016
Training History
- World Skills Team Canada Trials: Conestoga College, February 25-28, 2017
Kyla Henry
- Trade: Graphic Design Technology
- School: Saskatchewan Polytechnic
- Hometown: Regina, Saskatchewan
- Age: 20
“I took a few graphic design courses early on in high school. I really enjoyed the field of graphic design technology but because of a move I couldn’t continue studying. When I graduated I heard about the program at Saskpolytechnic and decided that I would pursue this opportunity.”
- Interesting fact about Kyla: I love snowboarding. I find that graphic design and snowboarding are very similar to me in the sense that they both push me out of my comfort zone.
- I have found that reading text is a very useful Essential Skill to possess in this field. Graphic design in general revolves around reading instructions, extracting information and applying these concepts in a creative way. Continuous learning is another valuable Essential Skill as you need to keep up with the latest trends.
Results
- Medallion of Excellence – 7th overall
Competition History
- Skills Canada Saskatchewan Provincial Competition 2016
- Skills Canada National Competition 2016
Training History
- World Skills Team Canada Trials: Saskatchewan Polytechnic, February 7-10, 2017
- Taitaja 2017: Helsinki, May 15-18
Media
- Sask Polytech Student Wins Gold For Graphic Design – Discover Moose Jaw
- Saskatchewan Polytechnic’s Kyla Henry to represent Canada at global competition – Global News
Sean Furber
- Trade: Mobile Robotics
- School: Yorkton Regional High School
- Hometown: Yorkton
- Age: 17
“At the moment I have not chosen a career however I feel that skilled trade careers are a really good option as I would get to work with my hands and do a job that I enjoy doing. The field of robotics has always interested me as I am fascinated by technology and I have always been very curious as to how everything works.”
- I got involved in Skills Canada competitions through an afterschool robotics club offered at my school and it has been a great experience so far.
- Interesting fact about Sean: my biggest inspiration is my teammates’ older brother, Bo Chiasson, who competed at World Skills Leipzig 2013 in mobile robotics and won a medallion of excellence.
- I find that the Essential Skill of continuous learning is of great importance in the field of mobile robotics because it is a growing field and there is always more to learn.
Results
- Brock Chiasson/ Shaun Furber – Mobile Robotics – Medallion of Excellence – 7th overall
Competition History
- Skills Canada Saskatchewan Provincial Competition 2015
- Skills Canada Saskatchewan Provincial Competition 2016
- Skills Canada National Competition 2015, Gold
- Skills Canada National Competition 2016, Gold, Qualified as a Team Canada 2017 Prospect
Training History
- Participated in EuroSkills 2016 in Gothenburg, Sweden
- World Skills Team Canada Trials: December 1-3, 2016 EuroSkills 2016 in Gothenburg, Sweden