More than 2,300 students from across the province tested their mettle in dozens of skilled trades and technology contests at the 2018 Skills Ontario Competition, which saw Centennial College’s biggest team ever – 47 students – return with three gold, nine silver and six bronze medals. It was the best medal haul ever by a Centennial team in what is Canada’s largest annual skilled trade and technology competition.
A wide range of skills and careers related to the manufacturing, transportation, construction, technology and service sectors were on display at the three-day competition for elementary, high school and post-secondary students. The competitors were entered in nearly 70 events for medals, monetary awards and even job offers by employers in selected industries. The event drew more than 30,000 spectators to the massive Toronto Congress Centre in Etobicoke between May 7 and 9.
Centennial students recruited from the School of Transportation, the School of Hospitality, Tourism and Culinary Arts, the School of Community and Health Studies, the School of Communications, Media, Arts and Design, and the School of Engineering Technology and Applied Science (SETAS) were put to the test in a range of contests – such as computer-aided manufacturing, esthetics and automotive service – and judged on their skills related to their field, as well as their job interview and other related “soft” skills.
Centennial's medal-winning students for 2018 are:
Gold Medal
Ian Broomfield – Outdoor Powered Equipment
Bradley Lewis – Truck and Coach
Mitchell Wright – Refrigeration (first gold for SETAS)
Silver Medal
Matthew Chin – Refrigeration
Henry Fung – Electronics
Zach Hiltz – Heating Systems Technician
Dickson Kee – Computer Aided Manufacturing
Oleksiy Kolomitsev – Auto Service Technology
Catherine Mathewson – Auto Painting
Garrit Den Ouden – Outdoor Powered Equipment
Poulad Ashraf Pour – Coding
Cody Yates – Auto Collision Repair
Bronze Medal
Equan Agard and Curtis Ramhit – Mechatronics Team
Joseph Harrison-Lim – IT Software Solutions
Jessica Salami – Esthetics
Dylan Stuhr – Mechanical CAD
Linan You – Automation and Control
Gold medalists Ian Broomfield and Mitchell Wright are eligible to go on to represent Ontario at the Skills Canada National Competition on June 4-5 in Edmonton, Alberta (unfortunately, there is no Truck/Coach contest at the national level).
Update from Edmonton: Ian Broomfield won gold in the Outdoor Powered Equipment category on June 6, making him the best new powersports technician in Canada with the skills to maintain and repair motorcycles, ATVs, snowmobiles, marine engines and more. Ian also won a second gold for amassing the highest points by region. Congratulations to Ian for flying the Centennial College flag at the Nationals!
The combined successes and points amassed by Centennial’s student competitors saw the college earn the coveted Skills 2018 College of Distinction Trophy, another first at the competition. The trophy is proudly displayed at the SETAS office at Morningside Campus, but Dean Patrick Kelly has promised to share it with his fellow Schools.
The combined successes and points amassed by Centennial’s student competitors saw the college earn the coveted Skills 2018 College of Distinction Trophy, another first at the competition. The trophy is proudly displayed at the SETAS office at Morningside Campus, but Dean Patrick Kelly has promised to share it with his fellow Schools.
“I want to take this opportunity to thank all the students, program coordinators, faculty and support staff for their hard work and commitment in preparing for the event,” says Patrick Kelly, Dean of the School of Engineering Technology and Applied Science. “I am so proud of the entire group and all members who represented Centennial so well. What a team!”
Automotive industry supplier Magna Canada is a major sponsor of the annual Skills Competition, and once again Magna extended job offers to medalists in several categories, including three Centennial SETAS students whose medal wins saw them leave the competition with job offers in hand. Congratulations to our medalists and every student who participated in Canada’s premier skills competition.