Queen Ajibade of Iqaluit demonstrates her hairstyling skills on her model Josiah Joseph in a job demonstration event at the Skills Canada National Competition in Toronto on Friday. (Photo courtesy of Brandon Villeneuve)
Skills Canada Nunavut earns honour in Toronto
Competitors beat personal bests, earn one medal
While Wafa Firoza Rahman may not have finished first at the Skills Canada National Competition in Toronto this past weekend, she’s proud of her outcome and happy with her overall experience.
She finished in the middle of the pack in photography, which was significantly higher than last year.
“Beating myself was the goal and I did that,” she said during a phone interview following the competition Saturday.
She was among eight Iqaluit teens to compete in the two-day event, held at Toronto’s Enercare Centre. She took about 1,500 pictures, submitted 50 and 20 were judged, she said.
“Travelling for nationals was super fun,” she said. “I love connecting with people from other provinces and territories.”
Established in 1989, Skills Canada is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting careers in technology and skilled trades. The annual national competition brings together 550 youth to compete in 45 categories, which include construction, manufacturing, engineering and transportation.
Her teammates Wasi Abdur Rahman and Chaz Irngaut split the $1,500 prize for winning the RBC Best of Region medal. They earned the honour with a 90-second video they co-produced during the competition.
Nunavut team member Queen Ajibade competed in hairdressing, Troy Cox in workplace safety, Brandon Kownkirk Donovan in auto mechanics, Sagersse Saloman Siewe Tokam in job-search skills, and Azriel Tagnigou Petnkeu in public speaking.
Wafa Firoza Rahman competes in photography at the Skills Canada National Competition in Toronto on Friday. (Photo courtesy of Brandon Villeneuve)
“We brought a terrific group of kids,” said Brandon Villeneuve, executive director of Skills Canada Nunavut, in a phone interview on Monday. “They were upbeat. They were friendly. They were committed.”
Two non-competitive participants, Josiah Joseph from Iqaluit and Seporah Satuqsi from Igloolik, attended as part of the Soaring Skills Program, which teaches young people about the trades and prepares them for future competition.
“Skills Nunavut is going to be something to watch in the next couple of years,” Villeneuve said.
I was part of Nunavuts first skills Canada competition it was great me n my friend did webpage design … we kind of tagged along with NWT at the time.. and the event in Vancouver was amazing ..great program.