For the first time since 2019, RRC Polytech will host the Skills Manitoba Provincial Competition, welcoming more than 110 post-secondary students to its Notre Dame Campus to compete in skilled trades and technology contests representing a range of industry sectors.

This year’s competition — which had to be postponed a few days due to last week’s spring storm — runs April 19–22. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, RRC Polytech had hosted the provincial competition on campus every year since 1998.

“We’re excited to have Skills Manitoba back on campus. It’s an incredible opportunity to showcase the talent that comes out of RRC Polytech and our partner institutions,” says Derek Kochenash, Dean, Skilled Trades and Technologies. “The event highlights how well our students are prepared for careers in the trades and allows them to show off their talents to their peers and industry professionals.”

Each year, the competition provides the opportunity for nearly 500 high school, post-secondary and apprenticeship students to compete in events that test skills required in trades and technology careers. (This year’s secondary-level competition for high school students remained virtual, and was held from April 4–14.) Contests are designed by provincial technical committees made up of industry professionals and educators.

“Skills Canada Manitoba is working to change the perception of skilled trades and emerging technologies,” says Maria Pacella, Executive Director, Skills Canada Manitoba. “The young people who participate in these competitions will be the workforce of tomorrow. As we emerge from this pandemic, we all need to work together to showcase the economic and social benefits of a skilled workforce.”

Winners of the provincial competition form Team Manitoba, and compete at the Skills Canada National Competition in Vancouver from May 25–28.

In competing against peers from different provinces and territories, students can learn from each other to advance their technical competencies and delve into creative projects or advanced skills. During the 2021 national competition, Marteen Smith — a Brick Masonry apprenticeship student at RRC Polytech — was given two days to build a wall with a decorative basket-weave brickwork pattern, followed by a far more complicated structure with an inverted arch and ornate shield.

“That was fun because it’s not the kind of work we normally get asked for day-to-day in Manitoba,” Smith recalls. “I was very impressed by the calibre of work I saw from my competitors. It made me proud to have done so well.”

Smith brought home a silver medal and was one of four RRC Polytech students to place on the podium.

In May 2023, Manitoba will host the national competition at the RBC Convention Centre, with RRC Polytech on board as one of the event’s partners.

In addition to the main competition, the four-day event will feature networking sessions, forums and panel discussions, and Try-a-Trade and Technology activities that allow students with no prior training to experience skilled trades or technology occupations. Examples include building a brick wall, wiring a circuit board, changing the tires on a car or mixing ingredients for a five-star meal.

As Manitoba’s only polytechnic, the College has a proven track record of success in training an innovative skilled trades workforce. Its Skilled Trades and Technology Centre is a state-of-the-art, 104,000-square foot complex that houses labs, shop space and classrooms for up to 1,000 students per year in high-demand trades and technologies.

The STTC also supports technology and innovation in robotics and automation, hydraulics and pneumatics, materials, electronics and computer aided design, and houses the Innovation Lab for applied research initiatives, and industry and student projects.

Results from this year’s provincial competition will be posted on April 26.