There were six trips to the podium for College of the North Atlantic (CNA) students at the 22
nd Skills Canada National Competition (SCNC) in Moncton, New Brunswick on Wednesday.
The event, held from June 5-8, had over 500 competitors from the 10 provinces and three territories compete in 40 competition areas including; employability, construction, information technology, manufacturing, service and transportation sectors. Twenty one of the 44 Team Newfoundland and Labrador competitors were from CNA.
Medal 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.
CNA President and CEO, Ann Marie Vaughan, says CNA students continue to excel at the national level and are great ambassadors of the institution and province.
“Our students have once again shown the rest of the country what they have to offer in the skilled trades and technology sectors, and I am extremely proud of their accomplishments. They have worked tirelessly with their coaches and mentors to get to the national stage and have now been rewarded for this dedication to their craft,” said President Vaughan. “The commitment of their coaches, and the continued support of our partners with Skills Canada – Newfoundland and Labrador, makes this event a highlight of our academic year and I’m eager to see what the future holds for these talented professionals.”
CNA medal winners will now be presented with awards for achievements. Bronze medalists will receive $500 awards and gold medalists will receive $1,000 (a silver medalist would have been presented with $750). This newly introduced program acknowledges and celebrates the significance and importance of the students' achievements.
The SCNC is the only national, multi-trade and technology competition for students and apprentices in the country. By providing a forum where Canadian youth can compete against each another at the national level, SCNC provides hands-on work experience related to skilled trades and technology careers. Through these competitions, Skills Canada also seeks to raise awareness about skilled trades and technology sectors to all Canadian youth and their influencers.
“I had the pleasure of attending this year’s competition and was able to witness firsthand the excitement and determination our students, and that of the entire Newfoundland and Labrador team, had when they hit the competition floor,” said Robin Walters, CNA’s Vice-President of Industry and Community Engagement. “There were obstacles they had to overcome throughout the two-day competition, but they kept their goals in sight and made sure they gave their all in completing their assigned projects. It was a great experience for everyone involved.”
For a complete list of Team Newfoundland and Labrador results from SCNC 2016, visitwww.skillscompetencescanada.com.
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Media Contact:
Roger Hulan
Communications Specialist
College of the North Atlantic
(709) 649-8824
roger.hulan@cna.nl.ca