New academic year brings new focus to skilled trades opportunities
10/21/2016 9:12:19 AM
CNA students who captured medals at the Skills Canada National Competition held in Moncton, NB were presented with their monetary awards. On hand for the St. John’s presentation were, left to right, John Oates, President of Skills Canada; Keith Roche, CNA instructor and Team NL coach; Dawn Greening, CNA instructor and Team NL coach; Deanne Oliver, Skills NL Competition Manager; William Paul, (Ridge Road campus) bronze medalist in Architectural Technology & Design; Mike Newhook, (Clarenville campus) gold in Carpentry; Daniel Thorne, (Ridge Road campus) bronze in Electronics; Brandon Drover (Prince Philip Drive campus) gold in Autobody Repair (Drover also won the gold in Autobody Repair in 2015); Robin Walters, CNA Vice-President of Industry and Community Engagement; and Carole Ann Ryan, Skills NL Executive Director.
On hand at the Bay St. George presentation (Top) were, left to right, Darlene Oake, CNA Bay St. George Campus Administrator; Jason Harnum, gold medalist in Heavy Equipment Service; Heidi Staeben-Simmons, CNA Director of Public Affairs and Greg Ryan, CNA instructor and member of the Skills Canada National Technical Committee. On hand at the Corner Brook presentation were, left to right; Chad Simms, CNA Corner Brook Campus Administrator; Libby Chaulk, CNA Associate Vice-President of Student Services; Katherine Gallant, gold medalist in IT Office Software Solutions; Heidi Staeben-Simmons, CNA Director of Public Affairs; Brent Howell, CNA Dean of Engineering and Natural Resources; and Joan Parsons, CNA instructor (retired), and also Katherine’s coach.
With National Skilled Trades and Technology Week on the horizon next week (October 31 – November 6) and College of the North Atlantic (CNA) preparing to host Skills Canada – Newfoundland and Labrador’s Intermediate Challenge on November 26, students, faculty and volunteers are busy raising awareness of skilled trades career opportunities.
In an effort to entice students to participate in skilled trades events, CNA also introduced an awards program for secondary and post-secondary students competing in Skills Canada provincial and national level competitions.
Secondary students, enrolled in the Newfoundland and Labrador K-12 school system, who receive a gold medal at the provincial competition will receive a $500 CNA entrance award. If they receive a medal at the Skills Canada National Competition they will receive an additional $500 CNA entrance award for bronze, $750 for silver and $1,000 for winning the gold. All entrance awards are to be used toward tuition upon enrollment at College of the North Atlantic.
Current CNA students who win a gold medal at the provincial competition will receive support from the college to cover travel and accommodation costs to the national competition. Upon reaching the national level, students who receive a bronze medal will be presented with a $500 award, silver will receive $750 and gold will receive $1,000.
CNA students who captured medals at the Skills Canada National Competition held in Moncton, NB last June have been presented with their monetary awards. This year’s presentation marks the first time the awards have been handed out.
“For current or graduating students, or apprentices, early in your career additional financial support can sometimes go a long way. These students must be recognized for the dedication they have put into their chosen career as they enter the workforce,” said Robin Walters, Vice-President of Industry and Community Engagement. “Competing at the national level is a huge achievement at any age – so to rise to the occasion and rank as the best in the country is something we believe our students should be rewarded for.”
In total, six post-secondary CNA students and nine secondary students (Level III) received awards or cash and tuition vouchers as part of the program.
National medal winners and award winners for CNA included, gold for Brandon Drover (Prince Philip Drive campus) in Autobody Repair (Drover also won the gold in Autobody Repair in 2015; gold for Katherine Gallant (Corner Brook campus) in IT Office Software Solutions; gold for Mike Newhook (Clarenville campus) in Carpentry; gold for Jason Harnum (Bay St. George campus) in Heavy Equipment Service; bronze for William Paul (Ridge Road campus) in Architectural Technology & Design; and a bronze for Daniel Thorne (Ridge Road campus) in Electronics.
Twenty secondary students who won gold at the Skills Canada Provincial Competition were presented with $500 CNA entrance awards. Depending on their placing at the national competition, they were also presented with an additional $500 CNA entrance award for bronze, $750 for silver and $1,000 for gold.
“Many secondary students have their college aspirations in line well before they graduate high school, and many compete in the areas they want to one day turn into careers. We wanted to give those students some extra incentive to compete at the highest level they possibly can, and also be rewarded for their efforts if they decide to pursue an education at College of the North Atlantic,” said Walters.
For more information on CNA and its programs, visit cna.nl.ca.
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Media Contact:
Roger Hulan
Communications Specialist
College of the North Atlantic
(709) 643-7938
roger.hulan@cna.nl.ca