Surrey and White Rock students earn gold at provincial tech and trades competition
Clayton Heights' Gavin Mills took part in the carpentry division of the Skills Canada BC 2023 Provincials.Students from across Surrey and White Rock won 11 medals at the Skills Canada BC 2023 Provincials, including four gold.
Held at the Tradex in Abbotsford last week, the provincial event was the next round of student skills, tech and trade competitions following up from the regionals held in early March. The district sent 16 students to compete, with more than half earning medals.
“They did really well and we’re always happy to see them earn medals for their hard work,” said Martin Lim, Career Development Facilitator at Fraser Heights Secondary.
Surrey Schools students took home four gold, three silver and four bronze medals, with the following students moving on to the national competition in May:
- Winnie Wang & Julie Southinavong, Fraser Heights Secondary – 2D Animation (Gold)
- Ayden Meinhardt, Kwantlen Park Secondary – Electronics (Gold)
- Larissa Chong, Lord Tweedsmuir Secondary – Baking (Gold)
Of the 11 medal winners, six are from Fraser Heights Secondary, something Lim said he’s particularly proud of.
“We encourage our students to take part in these events and we frame it as a way for them to just get more experience and possibly have something to put on their résumés later on,” he explained.
“Even if they just compete, they might make it to the top 10 or top five of their category and then they can later say that they placed in the top 10 or five throughout all of B.C. for their category and year.”
Fraser Heights students Ivy Ye and Alishba Rehman competing in Provincial Graphic Design at the Skills Canada BC 2023 Provincials.
Lim also noted that students are able to compete in a wide variety of categories, many of which buck the traditional image of trades and skills.“Students and parents are often surprised to find that things like baking, web design and hairstyling are also considered skilled trades,” he said, adding that there are numerous incentives and programs for students to enter these fields without the financial cost of pursuing other careers.
Lim will accompany the district’s four gold medalists to the national competition, which will be held at the RBC Convention Centre in Winnipeg on May 25-26. The event will feature an Olympics-style opening and closing ceremony with competitors in matching shirts representing each of their provinces.
“That’s going to be a great event,” he said. “It’s just a great experience for the kids and something that will hopefully encourage others to explore the trades.”
Here is the full list of Skills Canada BC 2023 Provincials Surrey and White Rock medal winners:
Gold:
- Winnie Wang & Julie Southinavong, Fraser Heights Secondary – 2D Animation
- Ayden Meinhardt, Kwantlen Park Secondary – Electronics
- Larissa Chong, Lord Tweedsmuir Secondary – Baking
Silver:
- Tristan Yeung, Raybow Zhang, Fraser Heights Secondary – Video Production
- Daniel Cook, Earl Marriott Secondary – Website Development
Bronze:
- Maureen Joy Mendania, Princess Margaret Secondary – Fashion Technology
- Ivy Ye, Fraser Heights Secondary – Graphic Design
- Brayden Tang, Fraser Heights Secondary – Mechanical CAD
- Benson Tsai. Fraser Heights Secondary – Photography
