VSB students arrived in Abbotsford’s Trade and Convention Centre a day ahead to prepare for the intense day ahead of them. Twenty-three students coached by teachers at Tupper, Britannia, John Oliver, Hamber, Van Tech, and VCC competed in the following categories at Skills Canada BC: Culinary Arts, Baking, Automotive Service, Auto Collision, Fashion Technology, Work Safe BC, Video Production, Spaghetti Bridge and Wind Turbine Challenge.

Winning a top spot would mean advancing to Winnipeg to compete in the Skills Canada National 2023.

VSB students performed well despite experiencing some challenging hurdles.

Estella, a Grade 12 student who is completing her Level 1 Hairstylist Technical training, was full of nerves during the competition and, and while she felt the competition was tough, she ultimately placed a Gold in the Hairstyling competition.

Overcoming challenges and always putting your best effort was the theme of the day. The Fashion Technology Stations had electrical issues and lost 20 minutes of time due to blown fuses to two of their sewing machines, but despite the stress, VSB student Angie Zhang placed Gold and Julie Tran placed Silver.

The hurdles competitors face will provide them the valuable experience for future endeavors. Mark Reid, district careers resource teacher, reminds students that the goal of the competition was to gain experience, and emphasized that career education is a journey that begins as early as kindergarten.

“Career education in Vancouver schools starts as early as kindergarten, helping students to recognize how they fit into their world, how they fit into their community, who they want to be when they grow up and how they want to contribute the community around them.”

Congratulations to all students who participated this year, and best of luck to those heading to compete on the national stage in Winnipeg!  

Watch a video of students and teachers talk about their experience at Skills Canada

Below are the final results from VSB students