The CWB Association Welding Podcast

Skills Canada Series - Season 3- Episode 4 with Krystal Nieckar

• Max Ceron

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The CWB Association is thrilled to collaborate with Skills/Compétences Canada on a special podcast series. This year, we are excited to interview the Skills Canada Executive Directors from across Canada. Tune in as we explore their skills journey and commitment to promoting skilled trades in their provinces and territories!

Krystal Nieckar’s path to becoming Executive Director of Skills Canada Saskatchewan wasn't the traditional trades route. With a background in disability advocacy, corrections, and workforce development, she brings unique relationship-building expertise to an organization dedicated to elevating trades education across Saskatchewan. Krystal is excited to host the Skills Canada National Competition and welcome all competitors to her beautiful province this year, as we are in Regina, SK.  

Website: https://www.skillscanadasask.com/

Follow Skills/Compétences Canada:
Website: https://www.skillscompetencescanada.com/en/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/SkillsCanadaOfficial
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/skillscompetencescanada/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/skills_canada
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/skillscanada

There is no better time to be a member! The CWB Association membership is new, improved, and focused on you. We offer a FREE membership with a full suite of benefits to build your career, stay informed, and support the Canadian welding industry. https://www.cwbgroup.org/association/become-a-member 

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Introduction to Crystal Nykar

Speaker 1

All right, I check, check. Good. So I'm Max Duran. Max Duran, cwb Association Welding Podcast podcast podcast. Today we have a really cool guest welding podcast. The show is about to begin. Hello and welcome to another edition of the CWB Association podcast. This week we are doing a special Executive Directors of Skills episodes here in beautiful Regina, saskatchewan, for the National Skills Competitions. I am going to be interviewing Executive Directors of all the provinces and territories and getting down to what's going on in each province, provinces and territories and getting down to what's going on in each province. Now in front of me right now, I got Crystal Nykar, who is the ED of my province, saskatchewan, our province.

Speaker 1

Our province and I know I'm supposed to be completely like you know, non-picky, but I got my Sask shirt on, so hey, it is what it is. How's it going?

Speaker 2

You're repping on my behalf today.

Speaker 1

How you?

Speaker 2

doing Crystal.

Speaker 1

I'm doing good. I'm doing good. How are you?

Speaker 2

It's good, it's been a busy, busy day. I'm sure it's been busy for you. Yeah, it is. It is a lot of steps, and this is my first national competition, and so it's very cool to see it all laid out really I think you've had a lot of firsts. Yeah, I have so how long have you been, ed, here at? I'm coming up on, uh, almost 11 months, 11. I'll be here in july a year in july.

Speaker 1

So we're talking, you know, when kids are under the age of three and you talk about them being like 28 months old I know you're still in baby.

Speaker 2

Baby, I'm 11 months old. Yeah, yes, what did you do before you came to work at uh, at skills?

Crystal's Career Before Skills Saskatchewan

Speaker 1

that's a good question uh, I started my career working with folks with disabilities. Yes, what did you do before you came to work at?

Speaker 2

Skills? That's a good question. I started my career working with folks with disabilities and, just like, really, I'm an advocate by nature and I love to be able to help people go where they want to go. Right, I call myself a relationship builder and so then I worked a lot in the human services field and so a lot of, a lot of high stakes lives on the line, kind of work at risk youth. I did a group home, I ran a program through the federal government working with guys coming from corrections, helping them get employment, that sort of thing. Uh, working with guys coming from corrections, helping them get employment, that sort of thing, um, so I, I just I love working with people and so when this opportunity came across my uh, across my screen, I was like this is, this is something I want to do so.

Speaker 1

How did you find this opportunity?

Speaker 2

just online, being like, yeah, looking for a job, yeah right before, right before I came to skills canada, I was working with Saskatoon Trades and Skills. Okay yeah, they gave me a cool opportunity to help short-term intensive training to gain employment. That's the goal. So get people working and I really love that philosophy, you know.

Speaker 2

Yeah, getting them up on their feet and rolling yeah exactly Giving them an opportunity that maybe they wouldn't have had otherwise, and then just making that those direct connections with employers, um, they'd be like here's the work that this person has done. This this is, you know, I'm gonna um advocate on their behalf to be able to to get into the workforce.

Speaker 1

so so this was like trial by fire then yeah, yeah like you had a little bit of experience, but you weren't a trades person no not at all.

Speaker 2

I mean, I grew up rural saskatchewan on the farm and, uh, you know you're a farm kid, so you're a jack of all trades and a master of men, right? None, yeah, maybe one, maybe, yeah maybe one, um, but you know, dig in hard work community. That's what it's all about, right, and so that is the feeling that I get from this work.

Speaker 1

You came into Skills in Saskatchewan, where it was kind of a tumultuous period right. But Skills Saskatchewan has been strong for a long time. We have a lot of competitors. We do well at the provincial stage, we do well at the national stage. We do well at the world stage. We do well at the provincial stage, we do well at the national stage, we do well at the world stage. So you kind of came in and there's a certain pedigree. That's sort of expected right.

Speaker 2

For sure. Yeah, I came in and Skills Saskatchewan had gone through quite a few the turnover and leadership.

Taking on the ED Role

Speaker 2

And so when they brought me on, they said well, first of all, we're looking for someone to stick around, no-transcript, and and the, the, the whole the whole process of getting to this point has been great and working with the national team is super lovely and everybody is uh. What I found is that the skills family is it really is a family. People bring you in and they're like here's my phone number, call me, let's chat, let's talk about this, let's talk about these opportunities, let's do, let's see, maybe we can. This year I had a cool opportunity to work with um Skills UConn and do um a crossover of a competition, um bring their kids into our competition, um, because they didn't have a PTC, um or, I guess, a territorial technical committee, uh up in, up in Yukon.

Speaker 2

So I was like that's a cool opportunity that that I wouldn't have had otherwise.

Speaker 1

For both sides. Yeah, for both sides, really, yeah, yeah, very cool. Now, when you came in, how much staff did you have? What was the breadth of the organization? You know what was it looking like?

Speaker 2

Uh, I came in and there were um two sort of temporary staff that were working there. Um, we were fortunate enough to have a long time skills canada employee, um, join us, uh, on contract. And when I the first day I arrived, just like here's all of these documents I wrote it all out for you, um, and then let's chat.

Speaker 2

So right now, skills saskatchewan, we're two folks, um and two folks, and we work hard every single day to bring our provincial competition to life, and then we work on annual programming in schools as much as we possibly can. And something exciting is we are working with RBC currently and they have given us some funding to bring in a third employee to do in-school programming Awesome, have given us some funding to do to bring in a third employee to do in-school programming Awesome. So that's something that is especially from the pandemic. We lost a lot of that. I guess, that headway with schools because we weren't allowed to go in and while virtual programming is lovely, actually getting into the schools with the hands-on and, you know, chatting face-to-face with the kids is what it's all about. We're going to be able to do that again, so we're excited about that.

Speaker 1

One of the things that's come up with all the different EDs I've been interviewing is the funding models how important partnerships are, how important funding is. I mean, skills is federally funded. There is some stuff that comes down, but in order to be, I guess, down but in order to be, I guess, competitive, in order to stay abreast of, kind of the stronger provinces, you got to find your partners right. How's that been like?

Speaker 2

uh, good, actually, we, um like, as I said earlier, I love to build relationships with people, um, and and I think that that's where partnerships start is having a conversation, finding that common ground. How do we work together really well? And what does that look like for Saskatchewan? Where are the gaps in employment? Where are the gaps in the services? Where are the gaps in education? Even, how do we work together to fill those? And what works for a partner's mandate and what works for us? And we've been really fortunate to have some really great long-term partners like you guys for example and then, right now, what we're really hoping to do is build our governmental support.

Speaker 1

Right. Try to access that government funding. That's out there.

Speaker 2

Yeah, the core funding right.

Speaker 1

Yeah.

Speaker 2

And we have a little bit, but frankly we could use more obviously, just like every province and territory, but I think Saskatchewan is a you're a trades province.

Speaker 1

We are Right, we're very industrial, we're very resource rich, mm-hmm yeah.

Speaker 2

And so I think that needs to be reflected in the way that the funding comes through, and not only through, you know, whether it's career, training or whatever, transportation whatever that might be. I think it's important also to recognize that while we're doing this work, it's not even just us. You know, I always say that the teachers are the biggest champions of skills, right?

Speaker 1

Because if they're not doing it, totally right.

Speaker 2

And so you know, sharing that, getting into the schools to be able to find those champions in the schools to bring the kids, because they're spending the time they're before school, after school, during school, right, the extra workload that they're doing on top of all the other things. So I think it's a combination of, uh, getting all the ministries together. Well, good luck, and to jump on board.

Speaker 1

Right, it seems like a big undertaking, but uh, it's something that I'd be happy to do. Yeah, small bites, just a little bit at a time. Yeah, yeah, totally. Now, how many competitors do we have here at skills national 52 there's 52 of us saskatchewanites saskatchewanians saskatchewanians, I like yeah, yeah yeah, so they're, we're competing over how many different trades? I want to say 40 I want to say 40, yeah, which is great that's fantastic yeah now, historically, we're pretty strong in certain fields how are, are you? Feeling about this year.

Speaker 2

I'm feeling great actually.

Speaker 1

Yeah, yeah, I'm feeling great.

Speaker 2

We have quite a few returning competitors this year, but we have a really good crop of a new crew and they are, they're, eager. Some of them are a little bit shy.

Speaker 1

Yeah, a little nervous yeah, or timid maybe. Yes, yeah.

Planning the Provincial Competition

Speaker 2

But you know, I think that they'll be, they'll be returning and and, and we can't wait to go to Toronto, you know, yeah, but also how cool as a, as a new, uh, comer to skills, a brand new competitor, and you're in Regina you know, you just roll out of bed and your own home and you just roll into a competition.

Speaker 1

That's one of the things about being the host is that I get to go to sleep in my bed every night.

Speaker 2

I'm always on the road right, right, always on the road.

Speaker 1

And so. But the other side of that is, you want to show off, you want to showcase, you want to make sure everyone here is having a wonderful time, right?

Speaker 2

And I think that we've talked about this in the past before, but something that Saskatchewan does really well is hospitality.

Speaker 1

Yeah, right.

Speaker 2

We bring people in, make them feel comfortable, make them feel at home, and you know the what I've heard, the feedback is they're like, it's so welcoming, we've had such a good time, this is such a beautiful city, the weather is beautiful and I was like, well, we ordered that specifically, obviously, um it is always beautiful in the summer in saskatchewan, though that's what it is.

Speaker 2

Yeah, it really is um, but I think it's also that feeling of it's the feeling of community. So you know, people want to come here. They're we're, they're excited to have us here, um, and they want us to come here, they're excited to have us here and they want us to come back. What I've heard is, like we'll take you in three years. Wouldn't that be great?

Speaker 1

So are you going to get to go to Shanghai, if everything goes well?

Speaker 2

I think so. I think we're going to show up during those medal ceremonies in a strong way, and so I think we will have a good chunk of Team Canada will be from Saskatchewan.

Speaker 1

Yeah, that makes me happy. I'm trying to get there somehow.

Speaker 2

Yeah.

Speaker 1

Dear CWB, I need funding.

Speaker 2

I think you'll do it. It'll be great. I might be all right. I might be all right.

Speaker 1

Now, in terms of organizing right, you came in fresh a little bit of trades experience, hopefully, like terminologies, down some of the words and they're like okay, well, first we got to get through provincials yeah so what was it like? Setting that up, you know with, with, I would say at that time, maybe only five or six months experience like yeah, uh yeah, yeah, small bites, not so much yeah, there was.

Speaker 2

No, there was no small bites for that. Um, somebody asked me that yesterday. What was it? What was it like now that you're on the other side? Uh, and honestly, max, it was crazy it was.

Speaker 1

It was crazy I I were walking up to you when you were at the line there at registration and you looked at me and your eyes had like no focus, like your pupils weren't even working. I was like, okay, I'll come back later. Yeah, yeah, it was crazy.

Speaker 2

We were so busy, Just I. You literally felt like chickens, running around with their heads cut off.

Speaker 1

Yeah.

Speaker 2

But I remember every time. I would just like stop for two minutes. I'd be like man I have just learned so much in a short amount of time.

Speaker 1

Um that my brain was exploding, well, and that's the thing. Like, if you can take it all in, yeah, then you've learned. Right now, one of the things that I think we've done poorly in saskatchewan and I'm going to be critical because I'm from saskatchewan is that we haven't done great in succession, right, like the one ed. I go back to al gebert days. So when ed comes, he goes, leaves nothing really for the next one. Yeah, then the next one comes and goes, doesn't really, and that's got to stop, because you see other provinces do much better job, yeah, of making sure that the lessons you learn today are learned forever, right, right, so that the planning, yeah, can be seamless and going forward yeah, are you, are you working on on that sort?

Speaker 2

of like stability within the company, yeah, uh, one thing that I'm uh famous for is writing everything down yeah, I write everything down, um, even if it's like uh and and like old school pen to paper because, you know it's uh, you, I go back to my notes from, like man, even six months ago, yeah, and I and I look through and just like um, the thoughts that I had and I was like, oh yeah, that sparked an idea here.

Speaker 1

How can?

Speaker 2

I relate it to this Uh, but in terms of like, building succession documents, um, we're working really hard uh on creating uh those documents, and even by month, like we have a. We were fortunate with Gail Vent who's? Been a longtime employee for Skills.

Speaker 1

Gail is amazing. Yeah, she totally is. Is she here?

Speaker 2

She is here and she left this very detailed document. Here's what you should be doing in the first half of this month and in the second half of this month, and so we've taken that and expanded it um to, to build it into, because we're not in um, I guess, starvation mode I don't know what the right word is right now Uh, we're moving out of that, and it feels nice, and so what does stability look like for us? And and we received a lot of really good feedback from our provincial competition.

Speaker 1

What are the wins? What are the things we got to get better at?

Speaker 2

Yeah, and so, and despite you know, our competition is at the end of March, and then we have a massive snowstorm.

Speaker 1

Yeah.

Speaker 2

Right, which which we can't help unless we move the competition.

Speaker 1

That was wild. It was but so much snow.

Speaker 2

Yeah, we had 300 competitors and I think that we had three cancel. So, you know that speaks to the commitment and the dedication of the people of Saskatchewan. You know they're they're coming to to to spend time, showcase their skills the work that they've put in right.

Speaker 2

They don't want to miss out on that. Um and so, just taking that feedback in real time, in a healthy way, and and I'm very open to receiving that feedback anytime people want to give it to me, and I'm very open to receiving that feedback anytime people want to give it to me, because we can't get better if we don't do that right yeah, and from the competitor's standpoint, the event ran it ran.

Speaker 1

It started to finish, metals came out Totally. It's not like it was stalled in any way, right? No?

Speaker 2

And the nice thing is that, while all of this is happening and as a as a, as a competitor or a NTC or or even us, right, you see, things, they're moving, they're flowing we don't hear about all the crazy that's happening behind the scenes but that's happening, it's still happening.

Saskatchewan's Competitors and Hospitality

Speaker 2

It's happening, Uh, and so I think one thing that, uh, Kari, the other person in our, in our office who's great she, her and I are working together really well to be able to deal with those things in real time and move past them. Yeah Right, and so, while it looked, it looked great from the outside, but on the inside it was like holy smokes.

Speaker 1

Yeah, this is happening.

Speaker 2

This is happening, this is happening, yeah, and then now I've got to go over here and meet with these folks, and I have to do this over here with these folks and yeah, yeah.

Speaker 1

So this over here with these folks and yeah, yeah, so it's like it was, like the ship was. Did I just unveil some ptsd there as you hide under the table?

Speaker 2

yeah, yeah, it did. It did feel a little bit like that. But come medal ceremony and you and you watch these, uh, you watch the kids get their. You know their names announced and they're like it was unreal, it's something I've never experienced before, and it was very cool to be the person calling their names. Yeah, yeah, yeah, it was really cool, but you know they're, they're.

Speaker 1

It's very emotional for them yeah, plus, they've been on this nerve nervous high for hours, like since seven in the morning. They've been running on just adrenaline and, yeah, probably monster drinks, because they're teenagers now, but you know what I mean. Like yeah then, then, at that moment it's like a complete release, right? Yeah?

Speaker 2

I did it.

Speaker 1

I was successful, yeah, and then there's no rest for the wicked yeah, yeah, right back into training, right back into training. So then how's that process work when you know you're the host province, you know like now, you're like, okay, gold medal winners, now this is the plan.

Speaker 2

Yeah, national is very Skills Canada. They're very timeline focused, which is great. These are their strong deadlines. This is what we need all this stuff in for, and so then we just collect all the information and get all that in, and so, while the competitors don't feel the weight of that timeline that's impending, they get their stuff in as best as they can.

Speaker 1

I'm sure they feel it in other ways, yeah.

Speaker 2

But it is. It really. It's information gathering. That's what we do after our provincials are done. And then we, we order T-shirts and we order swag and set up bus transportation and like how's everybody getting here? There's a lot of logistical stuff, and then how do the hotel rooms work? And then can I room with this person and I'm going to stay with my mom and I'm going to write. It's a lot of like sorting that stuff out. I'm going to stay with my mom and I'm going to right, it's a lot of like sorting that stuff out, Um, but otherwise, yeah, the kids are excited to be here, the kids, the young adults, I suppose as well, because there are. We have adults on our team as well.

Speaker 1

Yeah.

Speaker 2

Uh, everybody's just excited to be able to get here, uh, and so we, we sit down as a team and do like a virtual meeting, and here's all the things that you can expect yeah, be ready, this is what your day is going to look like. Here's your bus schedule. Um, we send them out in a full uh information package, um, and then, then you know, half of them don't read it, but that's okay yeah so in in regina, since we're host yeah do the competitors get to stay in, like the, the hotels, or are they all?

Speaker 1

because I know generally for nationals and then for worlds, competitors don't mix with the public, right? You want to keep them all in one room okay, we're like close right right so did we do that here? Or like if you're from regina, you get to go home every night?

Speaker 2

yeah, we there. There are a few folks from regina who are staying in a hotel um but there were lots that were like I'm just gonna stay at home yeah yeah, I don't want to deal with the hotel and all that sort of stuff, which is fair, um, so we gave them the opportunity yeah because next year, when we're in toronto, everybody will just be in the hotel together so yeah, now for yourself, coming into this with a limited skills background, how was that learning curve?

Speaker 1

how did you get caught up with the, with the expectations of knowing a little bit about every trade?

Speaker 2

yeah, uh, well, I did a lot of reading, um, and then just spending time having conversations, uh, with our ptc and, um, yeah, remembering the skill associated with skill number, and I still don't have it quite down. There's a few that that that get me every time Then.

Speaker 1

I'm like wait, what is that? One again. And it's usually like 39.

Speaker 2

And I can now see I can't remember what 39 is right now it's 39.

Speaker 1

That's like a sprinkler fitting, isn't it?

Speaker 2

No sprinkler fittings Fitting's 55.

Speaker 1

Okay.

Speaker 2

Yeah, and I would if I didn't know that the UA might get very mad at me, but I do know it. 39 is like architectural design maybe.

Speaker 1

You're absolutely wrong. I don't know. I know welding. I don't know. Don't hold it against me. Skill 39. Yeah.

Speaker 2

I did a lot of reading right.

Speaker 1

Yeah.

Speaker 2

As I one of my, in this role that I'm in, one of my, my biggest fears is, uh, looking stupid and I don't like to do, I don't like to feel that way or feeling stupid, so, uh, so I do love reading, yeah but at least not enough to be dangerous.

Speaker 1

I'll watch.

Speaker 2

I'll watch some videos, try, you know figure it out what's, yeah, exactly the internet is a is a vast place of mostly wonderful information I give it 50, 50 but, but there's good stuff in there yeah, do my research right yeah, when we talk about skills, there's always the concept of the essential skills skills for change is a part of the essential skills network.

Speaker 1

What skills have you been taught working for skills?

Funding Models and School Programs

Speaker 2

oh, that's a really good question, max. I think integrity is is one of the biggest ones for me. Um is making sure that I am intentionally. Am I doing this for me? Am I doing this for my partners? Intentionally? Am I doing this for me? Am I doing this for my partners? Like, who am I doing this for? And at the end of the day, it all has to come back to the competitors. You know, the reason that we're here is for the kids, right, and ensuring that we, that the focus is on that, and is it? Is it the best for them? Yeah, right, I mean, I, I still have to work with my organization and make sure that, um, we're doing what's best for the organization, but the intention is for the kids.

Speaker 1

For the kids? Yeah, yeah, and is that something that you know you want to model now, like in terms of your leadership?

Speaker 2

I think so yeah um, I I think you know being as honest as possible about most things and and and. When I think about integrity, it's not just you know approaching everything right, not just doing the right thing, but it's like um being accountable, yeah, making sure that we follow through and we we do what we say you're gonna do, and so if I'm building a relationship with you and you ask me for this thing, and even if it is as simple as um remembering to send you an email back, yeah like, like, that's it right?

Speaker 2

uh, or is it making connections with people to um? You know, I'm gonna gonna connect you with a, a school in northern saskatchewan. That would be a really good fit for you.

Speaker 1

Yeah, right.

Speaker 2

Like that. Those are the things that are important and so, making sure that that I'm yeah, I'm going to do what I said I'm going to do at the end of the day. Yeah.

Speaker 1

What about the outreach into the more rural communities? That's always been an issue in Saskatchewan, because we are a big province, big province. With a small population right so how do you get that reach into areas that A probably don't have the programs and then B may not even know about skills at all?

Speaker 2

Right, I think it's being intentional about it right. And so my focus coming in was to sort of you know right that ship, so to speak, and gain that stability, and then with that it allows me to step forward about skills and that they have an opportunity to maybe whether we do a trade and deck day or even just be able to do some school programming. And what does that?

Speaker 1

programming look like Be involved somehow. Yeah right.

Speaker 2

And so is that programming, you know, accommodating. Maybe some of the programs that they're doing up north and then also with rural, is being intentional about that. So one thing that skills does is we do trade and tech days throughout um, throughout the year, usually try to do like five or six um and and lots of times we uh, we've gone to to larger schools because we get that um, we get the numbers yeah, it's an easy kpi yeah yeah, right, we, we have the numbers that we need to meet each year.

Speaker 1

And how do we?

Speaker 2

do that, but you know, being able then to talk to our funders and say right, we may not have reached 10,000 kids, but I reached 5,000 in a really good way, and that's over 15 schools as opposed to eight.

Speaker 1

Exactly Right.

Speaker 2

And so you know, making sure that I'm intentional and when I'm doing my trade and tech days, I'm going to Yorkton, saskatchewan. I'm going to, you know, like the Four Corners basically.

Speaker 1

Yeah, the Swift Currents and the Yorktons, yeah, exactly. Making sure that I'm not just you know, going to PA and calling that north. Look at the map. You're not even halfway there. Yeah, I know. Yeah, exactly, so yeah.

Speaker 2

I think being very intentional about it.

Speaker 1

Yeah, yeah.

Speaker 2

And so we're in the middle of building a new strategic plan, and that will be part of it.

Speaker 1

Well, I know that we've supported lots of camps.

Speaker 2

We're in partnerships with you guys. Yeah.

Speaker 1

And that's also one of our focuses coming up is you know how do we get into the North? Yeah, and trying to figure that out because it's you know, I think the technology is starting to make it a little bit easier. Like you know, the thoughts are like do we send a bunch of simulators up north and have like a week of welding via? Simulator yeah for sure, and I think the ideas are there and it's just a matter of getting the right partners lined up right, yeah and funding.

Speaker 2

Yeah funding yeah.

Speaker 1

I find that we can get money, that's true, right. I find that we can get money. That's true, right, like if you got a good plan and you're authentic about it and maybe just I'm real stubborn, but when I want to get something off the ground, there's a way, there's a way, you know.

Speaker 2

Yeah, I do feel that about you, max, yeah.

Speaker 1

And even the idea, like I brought this to the CWB, is that before it was all just chasing the three biggest welding companies for money and and if they said no, wow, that's it, go home and hang your head, you failed. And for me it was like no, I'm gonna chase the next layer of industry and if they say no, then I'm going after the next layer of industry and I don't care if I end up at uncle bob's welding, you know, and they flip me 50 bucks right, it'll help.

Speaker 2

It'll help, right. You know those mom and pop welding shops oh, that really went. Uh, they, uh, they have, they're established in that community and they have those relationships and and they need stuff too bob's welding, knows jack's welding and knows steve's welding, right like.

Speaker 1

All of those connections are there and then boom, you're in jack or sitting over coffee complaining that they can't find any good welders.

Speaker 2

exactly, exactly and so that's how those connections are made, and that's what I really love about this role is being able to, to to make those connections.

Speaker 1

Are you a part of rural Saskatchewan? In any way, I grew up in rural Saskatchewan. Yeah, okay, we're about. Yeah.

Speaker 2

I grew up in a little town called Rama Rama.

Speaker 1

Where's Rama Dama dama ding dong? What's that song? Yeah, yeah.

Speaker 2

And then I always say you know your grandma's from Rama.

Speaker 1

Everybody knows your grandma from Rama yeah.

Speaker 2

It's about two and a half hours east of Saskatoon on Highway 5.

Speaker 1

Okay.

Speaker 2

Yeah, so it's right in between Kenora and Wadena.

Speaker 1

Oh perfect, I know where that is, yeah.

Speaker 2

And so I grew up on a farm and my dad did his own. You know cowboy welding on the farm whenever he needed to.

Speaker 1

Yeah, 60-13,. Slam it in, let's go.

Speaker 2

Yeah, yeah, totally. He'll be so proud when I tell him that, yeah, so rural Saskatchewan is in my budget.

Speaker 1

So you understand those dynamics. Now, what about the cities? Because I hate to say it, but Regina and Saskatoon, we've basically decimated our trades programs in high schools. They're a 10th of what they were 15 years ago. Most of the high schools don't have any major trades or construction programs anymore. How do you pitch skills to a school that doesn't even have access to it anymore?

Rural Outreach and Education Challenges

Speaker 2

I know, yeah, that is hard and it's definitely something that's that's been a challenge, um, and for them it is. It is a funding related right because, you know the way that the the teachers are working these days yeah, they're not going to make a program out of the air. No, they're not um, but if they, I find that if they can, they will right they're, they're those.

Speaker 1

They have the passion if it's in their blood.

Speaker 2

They're going to do it and I think slowly the push is coming for that funding because of the gap in services. That's coming very soon, right.

Speaker 1

Not very soon happening right now.

Speaker 2

Right. Yes, of course you're right.

Speaker 1

Yeah, because I was just at a meeting in Toronto at the CAF conference and they were talking, talking about one of the statistics they brought up was we've been talking about this impending shortcoming of workers. We're past impending.

Speaker 2

Right, we need to change the vocabulary on that for sure.

Speaker 1

Because from 2025 to 2024, retirees across Canada doubled. So it's already starting Right Like the big drop off that we've all been like Ooh, the big drop off's coming, it's here, it's here, yeah, so like we've been trying to figure out how to solve this, well get on your horse, buddy, it's, it's right now.

Speaker 2

Uh, yeah, so I, I, you know I don't want to call anybody out, but I'm going to because it's your role when you're in government. It was the deputy minister of education and one of the teachers in the crowd said the first thing that always gets cut is PAA funding, and I'm not even a teacher and I know that.

Speaker 1

Yeah.

Speaker 2

But he wasn't aware of that and I was like it's pretty obvious, bro, yeah. And so I was. It's a shocking yeah that he didn't know that um, and so I was like okay, so where, where?

Speaker 1

do we go from here right?

Speaker 2

uh, and and in the room with simsa. What they're trying to do is like build the, the support for the education system from the people who have the money right now, and that's industry. Yeah, right, and I think it's a smart model bringing that in to be able to.

Speaker 1

We need to hire you At least reinforce what we have, yeah, yeah exactly.

Speaker 2

And I mean, you know the folks with the money, they're going to sway the government and so, yeah, it's a smart model. But in terms of of the schools it's, you know, it's talking to the principals and getting them to buy in and even if they don't have the programs, um, you know, maybe it's bringing kids to. So I think in Saskatoon there's three or four core schools that have good um construction programs. So whether it's welding automotive, uh an HCAP uh class.

Speaker 2

Um, you know bringing the kids in for that and and and uh, you know advocating for that from a skills with the weight of skills behind it yeah, yeah, I know in saskatchewan they went with us, or in regina they went with a, a core, a core school, like a hub school they called it right they canceled all the trades programs and just made one school like the trade school, and I just don't see how that's better than having the trades program be right down the hallway you gotta get on a bus once a week to take and that's not attractive to anybody like no one

Speaker 1

no, and I don't know why you would expect kids to be on board for that. And on the back end I hear well, we don't have enough trades people, we don't have enough trades people. Well, we we. We need them to have them somewhere for them to train. Right, the colleges, I think, are established yeah but you know we need.

Speaker 2

Their numbers are down, but their numbers are way down.

Speaker 1

And then, if you look at the international student factor, it's even more yeah and so then they lose all the funding yeah, yeah, it's a tough pickle, it's a cluster it's a cluster cluster, doodle a cluster Cluster doodle, a cluster doodle, and we don't want to get into too much of politics and the cluster doodles of politics.

Speaker 2

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Speaker 1

But the reality is is that we need to find ways for young people or people looking to transition into the trades, start the trades, stay in the trades Right and fill those roles right from the bottom to the top, including management and the only way you're going to do that is by events like this organizations like yours yeah where you're gonna. You're trying your best to make it sexy, make glamorize it yeah, make it fun.

Speaker 1

And I mean and give the information out of the options available. I mean, I brought my parents here today. My dad's been in the trades his whole life. My mom used to work in manufacturing and they walked through the floor and they're like, is this all a competition? I'm like, yeah, all of it. And they're like all yeah, yeah, they have no idea, right it's like, and I mean I don't think people, the general population knows about this.

Speaker 2

Yeah, but I think that the trades are very cool in the way that you could start out as an electrician or a welder or working on a heavy vehicle, and you start out as a technician, you start out as, like an apprentice and you work your way up and then the doors that that opens, right, I mean, look at yourself right. And now you're you're a famous podcaster.

Speaker 1

Thank you to all 14 of my listeners. I very much appreciate you, you know.

Speaker 2

I think that it's. It's incredible that the doors that it opens the opportunities that are available to you. You know I think of of the folks, the opportunities that are available to you. You know I think of of the folks, the partners that we work with, and they're like. You know what? When I was 18, I got into this trade and look at me now I'm the director of training of the UA. You know what I mean. Like it's, it's even open opportunities that are adjacent.

Speaker 1

That you don't realize, like, for example, example for me, once I got my red seals and I started, you know, making some good money yeah I was able to go to back to school yeah, and take night classes because I could afford it and it wasn't a big stress anymore. And I'm not trying to take five classes a semester and hammer out some magical thing, right.

Speaker 2

I was just like, oh, this class looks super interesting this semester, yeah, and so I would take a class a class.

Speaker 1

While you do that every semester, in seven years you have a second degree. Yeah, like you, it just and at no real expense. Right, because the trades give you that luxury.

Speaker 2

The time and the money right. I was having a conversation with someone this morning about like how do we make trades interesting to young people, um, so that they go directly them. And you know, there's that conversation about like I'm a Gen Z, I'll never be able to afford a house. Go into a trade house in five years. Problem solved.

Speaker 1

What you talking about and I was like that's how we sell it.

Addressing the Trades Worker Shortage

Speaker 2

That's how we should sell it to the young people House in five years. I'm going to steal that.

Speaker 1

We're going to do it. We're going to make memes, memes all week yeah, I love it. I was like that's so smart yeah awesome well two questions to wrap it up okay, two questions to wrap it up. So for yourself with skills, yeah, what? What are you hoping you know your group does here? How many world competitors are we going to get out?

Speaker 2

of here. What do we?

Speaker 1

because you got what? What do you say? 52 competitors? Yeah and I know I got my. I got my bets down on a few yeah and we do represent very well generally.

Speaker 2

Yeah, we do, but we got a couple of recurrings, yeah Right.

Speaker 1

So who do you think's in it for a world?

Speaker 2

Oh, you want me to name names.

Speaker 1

Or even just trades.

Speaker 2

Okay, I think our welders are going to do well, I think.

Speaker 1

We've gone to worlds a number of times in Saskatchewan. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Speaker 2

Uh, I think Mechanical CAD is going to do really well.

Speaker 1

Good, I think Graphic Design is going to do really well. Graphic Design we've gone to Worlds a few times yeah.

Speaker 2

Um, oh, I think. Hmm, I'm just trying to put the spaces in in where they're located. Uh, I think that we're going to medal in a fair number of competitions. I don't know that we'll go to Worlds in all of them, but I think I want to say five.

Speaker 1

I'm going to say five that would be fantastic. I'm with you. I'm with you there, yeah.

Speaker 2

I think we got three in the bag for sure, good, good.

Speaker 1

Hopefully the judges hear that too. I'll make my pro-line bets tonight.

Speaker 2

Well, can you imagine if you could pro-line bet on a?

Speaker 1

I don't see why not. That would be wild.

Speaker 2

There you go. Maybe that's your next endeavor. I feel like that's highly immoral, but that's fine.

Speaker 1

Sorry Killing me with laughter here. Last question Okay sorry killing me with the laughter here. Last question okay, so if you, because this is a short, quick, fast route you're on right now yeah if you have a young competitor in front of you getting disheartened, things are rough. How are you going to inspire them to crush it going?

Speaker 2

sure you know, I I like, I like having honest. I I'm not a small talker. I do not like it. It's not something I enjoy, and so I like getting deep and heavy with people fast, and so I think it's an easy way to like cut through all of the or young people, let's say we have a secondary competitors having a hard time um, just sitting down and be like what is your goal? What did you want to accomplish when you got here in the first place? Was it to attend? Was it to just like, maybe overcome some anxiety? Did you want to win the competition? How do we get back to that goal? And maybe it's deep breathing and maybe it's like a hard conversation, um, but I think it's coming back to that, to that authentic reason why you joined in the first place.

Speaker 2

And is it because your dad was a welder or your cousin is a carpenter? Is it like? What is the reason? And let's go back to that and focus on why you're genuinely here, and I think that that authenticity of like at the base of it is joy of doing something that you love. Um, that comes through yeah, and it'll come through in your work, it'll come through in your skill, it'll come through, uh, in your potential meddling yeah, yeah, I'm so pumped for saturday morning yeah, me too like I can't wait to see.

Speaker 1

I want to go check on the welders again this afternoon. Yeah, I was looking at all the welds today. I was like, oh, I don't. I started like my judge, I've judged before. So my judge's hat but then I'm like don't do that.

Speaker 2

Don't do that, don't take yourself, don't be critical yeah.

Speaker 1

That's hard to do.

Speaker 2

Yeah, I know, I know it is hard. I know it is hard, yeah appreciate it.

Speaker 1

Yeah, it was great, awesome and for all the people that have been following, along with the podcast, make sure you check out the entire skills series for 2025 here in Regina, saskatchewan, and also all our podcasts. Keep downloading, sharing and commenting. We appreciate it and love you. Thanks, catch you the next episode. We hope you enjoy the show.