Three NAIT apprentices are headed to Abu Dhabi this week to represent Canada in the 44th annual WorldSkills competition. WorldSkills is an international competition held every two years where competitors are selected from the winners of the Skills Canada national contest.
Ryley LaFrance (industrial control), Ryan Matsuba (refrigeration) and Aaron Taves (auto service) walked away with gold medals at the national competition in 2015. They say that competition was a key component in helping them strengthen their skills, while also mentally preparing for the international competition.
“You have to trust all the time and dedication you put into learning and perfecting your trade. You trust that in competition, all your knowledge and training will pay off,” said Taves.
For LaFrance, he sees the international competition as an opportunity to make new contacts across the globe.
“It’s more of a reward for me. Just to get out there, and make the contacts overseas and continue developing my trade,” said LaFrance.
Matsuba, who is now a journeyman in refrigeration, says this competition is something that is not well known, but is definitely starting to grow.
More than 100,000 spectators are expected to attend the event which runs from Oct. 14-19. There will be at least 1300 participants from 60 different countries.
The 2018 Skills Canada National competition will take place in June at the Edmonton Expo Centre. This event is free to attend and open to the public on competition days.
