Conestoga students Jennifer Norman and Dalton Cousineau finished the 2018 Ontario Skills Competition with first place wins and will now advance to the Skills Canada National Competition in Edmonton this June.
The provincial competition took place May 7 to 9 in Toronto and provided 2,000 secondary and post-secondary students with an opportunity to showcase and test their skills in more than 65 unique skilled trades and technology contests across the manufacturing, transportation, construction, service and technology sectors.
Norman and Cousineau were among the 32 students who represented the college this year at the provincial level. Conestoga’s team finished with 10 medals.
This was Norman’s first appearance at an Ontario Skills Competition, but the Cabinetmaking Apprenticeship student finished in third place earlier this year at the 2018 AWMAC provincial cabinetmaking contest held March 24 at Georgian College.
Norman works at Fischer Custom Cabinets which she said has helped prepare her for competitions, but her interest in woodworking was first sparked in childhood when she found an interest in crafts and making things.
“I am honored to be representing Conestoga and Team Ontario ... this is a huge opportunity for me and I really appreciate everything everyone’s been doing to help us go forward with our goals in life,” said Norman.
More than 500 students from across Canada will compete at the National Skills Competition between June 4 and 5 at the Edmonton Expo Centre.
Congratulations to Conestoga’s 2018 Skills Ontario Competition winners:
Gold:
- Dalton Cousineau - Brick Masonry
- Nathan Dean - Coding (contest not available at the national level)
- Jennifer Norman - Cabinetmaking
Silver:
- Mackenzie Carroll - Architectural Tech. & Design
- George Defelice - Metal Fabrication
- Mathew Forgues - Coding
- Karen Gallego - IT Software Solutions for Business
- Clayton Shaw - Welding
Bronze:
- Manny Abenoza - Metal Fabrication
- Jeff Freeman - Refrigeration