Conestoga President Dr. John Tibbits said "how proud" he was of the 20 Conestoga students who earned medals this year at the Ontario Skills competition at a celebratory barbecue at the College’s Guelph campus. He added that their achievements help shine the light on the importance of skills training. No other college in Ontario won as many medals as Conestoga.
Of the twenty provincial medalists, six Conestoga entrants went on to win medals at the 14th Canadian Skills Competition in Calgary. Their medals testified to their technical skills and problem-solving abilities, and two have earned a return trip to Calgary in 2009 to represent Canada in the World Skills Competitions, against the best international technical and trades students.
All six previously had won gold medals earlier this month at the Ontario Technological Skills Competition held at RIM Park in Waterloo, and were part of the Team Ontario delegation to the May 26-28 national competition in Alberta. The Calgary event was presented by Skills Canada.
The Conestoga entrants took four silver and two bronze medals in their respective post-secondary categories.
Winning silver medals were:
- Dan VanHolst of Waterloo, who will be one of Conestoga’s two World Skills entrants, in the Auto Service Technology category. He is a student in the Automotive Service Technician apprenticeship program at Conestoga’s Guelph campus.
- Jamie Perrault of Elmira, who earned his medal in Industrial Wiring. He is a student in the Electrician - Industrial apprenticeship program at the Doon campus in Kitchener.
- Jennifer Speers of Guelph, whose medal came in the Industrial Mechanic Millwright contest. She is an apprenticeship student at the Guelph campus in Industrial Mechanic (Millwright).
- Ben VanLeeuwen of Listowel, who earned his medal in the Architectural CADD and Design competition. He is a Doon campus student, in the Construction Engineering Technology - Architecture co-op diploma program.
- Jennifer Speers of Guelph, whose medal came in the Industrial Mechanic Millwright contest. She is an apprenticeship student at the Guelph campus in Industrial Mechanic (Millwright).
Bronze medals went to:
- Jud Tofflemire of Goderich, who will also represent Canada at the 2009 Calgary event, in the Electronics competition. He is a student in the Electronics Engineering Technician diploma program at Doon.
- Lori Martin of Elmira, who won her medal in the Brick Masonry contest. She is an apprenticeship student at Conestoga’s Waterloo campus, in the Brick and Stone Mason program.
Skills Canada is a voluntary association of educators, business and industrial leaders, and government representatives which aims to promote the value and importance of technical careers and education to young Canadians.
