The CWB Association Welding Podcast

Skills Canada Series - Season 3 - Episode 10 with Katie Mooney

• 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!

What happens when a community desperately needs tradespeople but is only accessible by plane? Katie Mooney, Executive Director from Skills Canada Yukon, shares the unique realities of nurturing trades talent in northern Canada. Beyond the practical aspects of trades development, Katie shares insights into northern living—the exceptional work-life balance, the immediate access to wilderness, and the tight-knit communities that make the territories uniquely appealing despite the harsh winters and infrastructure limitations.

Website: https://www.skillsyukon.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         

What did you think about this episode? Send a text message to the show!

Welcome to Regina Skills Competition

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 in beautiful Regina, saskatchewan, for the Skills National Competitions. As a part of this week's job, we are interviewing the executive directors of every province and territory to get the flavors of Canada from coast to coast to coast. Today I have Katie Mooney here, who is the ED for UConn. How are you?

Speaker 2

doing. I'm well. How are you this morning?

Speaker 1

I'm great, you know, I live here oh fantastic. So this is nice, because I get to sleep in my bed I get to go home. I get to show my friends my favorite restaurants, the favorite places to go.

Speaker 2

Love it and I think everyone's liking it.

Speaker 1

Absolutely. This is an awesome city. So what's your first impressions of Regina?

Speaker 2

It is windy, holy cow, is it windy?

Speaker 1

It is always windy, here it is.

Speaker 2

But we get to see sunsets. I'm used to seeing mountains, so the sun just kind of behind the mountains. So it's great to see the beautiful sunsets every night.

Speaker 1

It. How do you like the facility so far? What do you think of the setup? Oh, it's perfect, it's gorgeous.

Speaker 2

There's lots of room for everybody to compete. I'm definitely getting my steps in this week, but it's amazing. I'm really impressed with how the building and everybody that's running it and the volunteers, it's been great.

Speaker 1

I've heard lots of great things about the staff and the volunteers. I've been kind of trapped here, but if you've been out and around, tell me like, how has the experience been with everyone?

Speaker 2

It's been great. I mean, we've got the volunteers, we've got everybody from the NTCs, the volunteers, out on the floor, we've got the volunteers that are manning the doors and pointing everybody in the right direction which has been amazing. I'm loving seeing the kids from our National Alumni Committee. They're everywhere.

Speaker 1

It's amazing they were running around like crazy yesterday alumni committee.

Speaker 2

They're everywhere. It's amazing. They're running around like crazy. Yesterday, like they got their stuff. They certainly did. They certainly did. So it's been awesome, it's been really impressive awesome.

Speaker 1

So let's talk about your team. How many competitors have you brought down? What's your whole team, everyone included?

Speaker 2

absolutely so. Competitors we have 18 this year, which is pretty good for the uconn. Um, we've got delegates I think we've got about 20 delegates this year as well and three staff.

Speaker 1

Awesome. Now, out of those 18 competitors, how many different trades are represented there?

Speaker 2

Oh, trick question here. Okay, so we've got, I think. Oh, I'm going to say 16. Okay, yeah. We've got a couple of teams We've got a team of two for animation. And then we've got a well, I guess I'm not 16, because we've got a couple in welding, we've got a couple in carpentry, um, but we're 13, 14.

Speaker 1

Yeah, we're scattered around now I know that yukon always has quite a strong showing in welding absolutely I know sky. I know the yukon you well, the program there. We run camps with yukon you every year and with the skills up north, um, what are the other trades that perhaps people don't know that uconn is strong in?

Speaker 2

oh gosh, okay. Well, we're great for our um yeah, like you said, with our um welding, um heavy equipment, we do really well. Our president of our board is actually in the teaches heavy equipment technology which helps um. Another one that we're really strong in is actually um mechanical cad.

Speaker 1

Oh awesome yeah, yeah, we've got a great team there and that would be such a great career in the yukon.

Speaker 2

Yeah, yeah yeah, um, what else? We've got kids that are in. Um, oh gosh, now I'm blanking. This is fantastic all over all. Wonderful, all over the place. Yeah, they're fantastic everywhere.

Speaker 1

Carpentry, carpentry is another really big one, yeah well and you know those are kind of the trades that are booming in the north. Right, when you look at construction, housing has been an issue up north forever 100. Hopefully now we can start making movements and trying to get better infrastructure. But you're going to only be able to do that with with our trades people, right, you're going to need them up. They're building stuff and do you think you got enough? Like I don't know if people understand the population restrictions, the travel restrictions of the north.

Speaker 2

It's wild, it's wild. Do we have enough people? Absolutely not. We are desperate for trades people. I love it because I get to see all the trades people, but as far as being also a resident of the yukon, and if you want to get somebody in to do, if you need to get somebody in to do work at your house or you don't, you're not handy yourself situation.

Speaker 1

Oh man, it's a good luck situation absolutely absolutely, and that's tough because we in the city were like oh man, I can't get a plumber for a week, but oh no, ours is like months yeah, now as how long have you been in the ed role?

Speaker 2

ed role.

Speaker 1

It'd be just over two years now and I mean, what was that like for you? Do you have any background in the trades? Did you come into this from trades adjacent work?

Speaker 2

my favorite question trades adjacent absolutely. Um. I grew up as a kid of a tech teacher. My dad taught construction. Growing up I went into packaging engineering, of all things which sounds really bizarre but we were always trades adjacent. We were always working with electricians, we were working with the plumbers, we were working with everybody out in factory floors. So I was having to work hand in hand with them and then with like marketing teams.

Speaker 1

So I kind of had a little bit of both sides.

Speaker 2

So I was always trades adjacent, had a hard one with that one, and then when we moved up to the Yukon, there's not really much need for packaging. So we were driving around I think it was like the first week and I saw the skills office and I was like that's where I'm going and, funny enough, that's where I landed. Well, what pulled?

Speaker 1

you up to the Yukon in the first place.

Speaker 2

Oh, oh my husband was working up. There we were.

Speaker 1

We had two houses going at the same time and kids at home when it was, it was, it was up for a challenge it was covid, and we're just like let's, let's do it, let's up, let's go for a challenge and an adventure one of the things that that happens or that we talk about in saskatchewan is that visitors never leave people people don't know much about saskatchewan, but when they come here they tend to fall in love and then they never leave because it's like easy living here, right? It's easy living yeah, I've heard the same with the north. Absolutely, you go visit the north and I have friends from high school that went up there like a one-year contract and they never came back.

Speaker 1

But what is it that attracts people to the north?

Team Yukon: Competitors and Trades

Speaker 2

like you hear about, the high prices, the law you can't find a plumber for months like the infrastructure, the flying, it sounds all these are like barriers, but still there's got to be huge pros oh man, the work-life balance I'm telling you everybody's in the same kind of mentality of yeah, absolutely in the summer, if it's a great, if it's a beautiful day, in the afternoon on a friday, the town just clears out yeah, just get out, there, yeah yeah, and there's tons of opportunity for the kids and there's tons of opportunities for families and it's it's just a great place to work and live. It's I mean, the outdoors is literally outside your back, you know like out your back door you don't have to go drive an hour or two to go camping, yeah right there, it's right there.

Speaker 1

And what about the question that everyone asks me as well in the prairies? What about winter? Oh, cold and dark, yeah, but I mean, are you guys entertained?

Speaker 2

we are. What do you like?

Speaker 1

I mean here we got snowmobiles and we do festivals in the winter.

Speaker 2

Oh yeah, yeah, you're, you're busy and I mean the first two years feel a little tricky. But once you get past that and you realize that everybody's. You know it might be dark out at eight o'clock in the morning but everybody's up and going to work and going to school and there's so many activities. I mean we're we're used to it, right? So you can definitely keep busy in the winter, it's fine, and then as soon as February hits, then everybody goes outside again and we're all very, very busy.

Speaker 1

When you took this job on, like you said, you kind of pointed and shot at the building.

Speaker 2

I did.

Speaker 1

And we're like that's the job I want. So how were you able to kind of surpass the learning curve? Because that's something I've heard lots about the EDs is that you got to learn not just about a trade, but like all trades.

Speaker 2

All the trades yeah.

Speaker 1

Right, and there's almost like an expectation to be able to communicate and get the lingo and the acronyms. Oh my God, there's so many acronyms. Right, that's so true. Yeah, what was that like for you you?

Speaker 2

know what it was really. It was. I hate to say it and I'm sorry for the other eds.

Speaker 1

It was really easy you were there for it, I was there for it, I I can speak the like.

Speaker 2

I can speak the corporate talk and I can speak the trade floor, talk and shop talk and it's. It's a really easy transition. And then in between when I was packaging engineering and the ed role, I was also a college professor, so stick me in front of anybody else.

Speaker 1

Yeah, yeah, yeah now, in terms of the one of the most important pieces to any skills team within a province is being able to find support from industry, getting those sponsors, getting the, the supporters for your program, and that can be either with cash. That can be either with cash. It can be either with facilities. Time.

Speaker 2

Time, all these things Now.

Speaker 1

obviously, in a larger center you're going to have much more access to a variety of sponsors and supporters. How do you manage that in a smaller population?

Speaker 2

It can be challenging, but at the same time we find some really, really, really passionate people and we find that all over the place. A lot of our volunteers that are on the board are also working. They're going to bring in their employers. They're going to bring in the time and the money. There We've got some really great construction companies that will support us. We've got some really great home hardware. We've got the biggest home hardware in Canada, down the street from our office.

Speaker 1

It's amazing.

Speaker 2

So we've got some really great supporters. We've got some really great volunteers that, even if their business can't give the money, they will give the time, they will give the supplies. Supplies in kind yeah exactly You've got to keep talking to everybody and get out there and I found that you actually have to like, go to their business and everybody's busy.

Speaker 1

It's trades Like I just said like three months to get a plumber.

Speaker 2

So you go out and you talk to people and you show up on the shop floor and talk to them there.

Speaker 1

Yeah, now, when you came in two years ago, what were some of the things that you envisioned? Your flavor of change, because that's what every new executive director including myself, everybody you always want to bring in your own flavor, your own style of leadership, your own style of management, what was it that you really wanted to bring up yourself to UConn?

Speaker 2

Myself to UConn. I had a really great idea and then I kept talking to you and it was gone. I think my thing is that I'm I was new into the position. There were people that have been there for years and years and you just build off of that yeah, they know what they're doing.

Speaker 2

They know what you're doing my job is to remove barriers and just keep everything going as best as I can. Um, the only thing that I've really kind of been pushing for is getting um kids interested that are even before high school right, because once you get them into high school I can hook them no problem.

Speaker 1

That's called. We've talked about that lots this week about what age do you start?

Speaker 2

oh man, I will get them as early as grade six yeah, grade five grade, five grade six yeah little fun activities and I just get some hooked and be like skills, come on, you know, like chat with us and chat with us when we get to high school and and you know we we've got your back. We want, we want you to succeed, yeah and what was the?

Speaker 1

the reception to you as a new ed? You know you got it. You got staff there for a while. You come in with all these crazy ideas and stuff. You know, like how did you feel like you just fit right into the family because you know I've been involved with skills for over a decade now. It's like you're part of the mafia, like I'm sure you got the mafia speech right. Absolutely, absolutely. You know what? It was welcomed with open arms.

Speaker 2

We were really lucky. Our board is awesome. They've been around forever. They've got your back, no matter what Our staff. We had all started within about six months of each other, oh wow. Yeah, so we were all brand spanking new and just figuring it out as we go in. So that was a lot of fun and we've got a really great supportive crew now.

Northern Challenges & Lifestyle

Speaker 1

So we're like a well-oiled machine at this point Now, in terms of the competitors that have come down, a lot of the northern communities are, I find, much more community-orientated, family-orientated, very tight-knit groups of people, orientated, family orient, absolutely very tight-knit groups of people. Now the support for some of these kids, coming down south here for the competition.

Speaker 1

It's got to be a little bit higher because there's some fear, like I heard yesterday, one of the one of the competitors coming down from nunavut um had never seen a tree in person oh wow, because they're from wayne. Yeah, yeah, yeah right, and I'd never even thought of that yeah, yeah. So you know what's it like to bring your competitors, your crew, to here. Is there a bit of a culture shock for some of them? Have they like? Maybe some of them have never flown?

Speaker 2

absolutely yeah, this year we've been really lucky um all of us. All of our competitors have already been out um out of the yukon okay all right, we have a little bit yeah we've got some experience, but we've we've had the years previously where kids haven't been on a plane before or haven't been out of the Yukon before and, um, it's, it's been interesting sometimes we have to have some. We have to have some pep talk sometimes um yeah, it's been, it's, it's so um rewarding to be able to bring these kids here and be like you know what you did so great at the territorials.

Speaker 2

Let's bring you to the national competition, and it's going to be a lot.

Speaker 1

But you're going to do great yeah, yeah, we've got our staff's amazing at doing pep talks um.

Speaker 2

They do them most evenings and probably for about a month leading up to the competition it's important, it's really important, yes, these competitors. Sometimes they just stress out like, well, we're going against the best of the best. I'm like, you're the best of the best.

Speaker 1

Let's do this. You deserve a seat at that table, yeah absolutely so that's always fun.

Speaker 2

I like doing that.

Speaker 1

And once you're here, then it's go time. Absolutely Now how do you keep them from not collapsing or freaking out? I don't know.

Speaker 2

Do you know that answer?

Speaker 1

I always try to start with the basics. Eat, well, yeah. Drink water, yeah. Sleep, sleep, sleep. Sleep's a tricky one.

Speaker 2

Yeah, it is, we do a really good job at feeding everybody and making sure everybody's supported, Like call home, Like don't forget to check. Have you checked? In with your parents today. We usually end up with a room at the whatever hotel that we're staying at. I just load with snacks. And I'm like you guys, take what you need, make sure that you're prepared, and then you find all your competitors and your delegates in there at like midnight just chatting away.

Speaker 1

And, like now, you have to go to bed, so I put my mom coat on and that's yeah. Yeah, get out of here.

Speaker 2

So, yeah, that's kind of fun and I love watching the kids and they come in with so much enthusiasm and I'm like, yeah, yeah, that's awesome, that's awesome. Um, let's see how you do at the end of the first day of competition because you're gonna be exhausted.

Speaker 1

I was exhausted, I'm not even competing. Same same thing. Everyone's like are we going out partying tonight?

Speaker 2

I'm like no, absolutely not. Tomorrow.

Speaker 1

Tonight's the night, yeah, yeah, exactly now for your, for your competitors that are here. Are there any that are on the world skills train that are, you know, trying to get that, that spot on world skills? Or maybe are a past gold and this is their second year? Ah well, I'm sure we've got some that have got their eyes on the world skills we we're not talking about it, we're we're keeping it as low key as possible, don't want to add that layer.

Speaker 2

We don't want to add that layer right now, let's get through the next day and see how we do um but we've got some kids that are really gung-ho, like they are they're, you know, my, my goal in life be a welder like they want to go to china, yeah, and then we've got some of the kids are like let's just do this, let's see what happens. So yeah, we've got a really good attitude across the team of we don't necessarily want to win, some of us absolutely.

Speaker 2

It's that is our goal, um, but some of us are just like we're here for the experience, we're here to have fun. Let's see how it goes, which is which is always exciting on my part what's the communication like between the other northern territories? Because we've got a posse. I know, I know you do, that's why I'm leading you there because there there's so much geography to cover there is is Right.

Speaker 1

Like I mean, people don't realize how large the territories are, like I'm not even looking at the islands, like I mean, like it's huge.

Speaker 2

Yeah.

Speaker 1

But the populations are dispersed. Well, they're dispersed too. A lot of small 100-person towns, you know 150-person communities. Now, how do you work that communication, those logistics between all the territories, the posse, yeah, and even within your, your province? Okay.

Speaker 2

So I'll start off with in our territory, um we try to get kind of like one at least point person in every community and I will send my girls out all over the place. Our staff, we're like hey, guess where you're going next week like you're going five and a half hours away, for you know a camp um. So we try to do a really good job having a contact everywhere um as far as the the territory posse um we, we we have our own outside kind of calls and stuff like that where we're comparing notes and trying to figure out travel plans, sometimes together, um it, it's, it's, it's a challenge and we have a lot of like it's a challenge being the ed for the territory.

Speaker 2

So I think having somebody else that understands those challenges of yeah, kind of same, barriers same barriers and it's and same fun challenge like it's the same funny things that can happen. Yeah, same wins too, and just like how can we work together, you know, do you have any ideas for this, or yeah how do we get out to some of these communities that you know like we'll get snowed out, like we were planning on going there, but the plane just said nope, not today.

Speaker 1

So what do? Yeah, and that's the crazy thing I keep hearing. It's like yeah, we couldn't make it to your town because the plane I'm like and we're like.

Speaker 2

No, no, that plane, it's a plane. You need a plane to get there. There are no roads to go to that community. Yeah, that's been fun and trying to figure out ways to get our stuff out there. That's got to be so expensive.

Speaker 1

Oh, let's not talk about that. Well, maybe we should Funders you got to realize if you want to find that stuff and develop those communities in the north. The training programs we got to look at infrastructure. We got to look at infrastructure. We got to look at travel. Why is there no roads? Like is it?

Speaker 2

because they can't be built, or is it because no one wants to pay to build them? Or do the communities not want them? Right, there's another. There's another angle.

Speaker 1

Yeah are we looking at? If we're going to fertilize, you know, the, the and strengthen the air service, well then you're gonna need more pilots and more landing strips and more quality planes, cause you'd also want it to be safe. Yeah, yeah.

Supporting Trade Skills in Small Communities

Speaker 2

Yeah, that's a huge part of it is how can?

Speaker 1

we get there safely.

Speaker 2

How can we get there reliably and efficiently? And that's that's a big one for us and, oh yeah, our funding for travel is huge compared to other stuff, just because we have to get out to those places safely and and, as often as we possibly can now, what are your partners like in terms of camps and and running other things?

Speaker 1

like is there lots of groups and associations up there?

Speaker 2

there's tons of groups and not-for-profit groups. Um, we actually find that sometimes we kind of overlap each other's, but because we're a small community, we overlap each other, catch it and we're like all right, so we're gonna work together and do something together. Yeah, yeah, which is really awesome um we find that we work a lot with the university up there um universe yukon you yeah, we're huge with them.

Speaker 2

Why we work with them often. Um, so we work with a lot of other groups and and kind of tag team activities when we can, which is always we share resources, share the ride even sometimes, right, yeah?

Speaker 1

because it saves a lot of money to partner and you double. I always tell like even executives, when I'm in executive meetings they want to have like 30 meetings. I'd rather have one meeting with 30 items you know like, and I think about that in terms of sponsors and sponsorships too. It's like you don't want to have 15 phone calls coming in.

Speaker 2

Yeah.

Speaker 1

If the 15 people can get together and work out a program, and then it's just one phone call, one sit down, and this is what we'll do.

Speaker 2

Yeah, it's way easier to swallow, yeah. Yeah, we actually have a great group um where we get kind of um, all the different not-for-profits together and the university together and a couple of the other groups like just um industry, people, yeah we get together once a month and compare it, yeah, and we kind of have a border like, okay, which age group are you going to? Which age group are you going to what? What are you?

Speaker 1

doing with those. It's awesome.

Speaker 2

Yeah, that's really fun to do, and then you kind of have keep tabs on what everybody else is up to so you don't step on any toes, and also where you can support, yeah like oh, I see, there's a gap here let me fill that one for you, because I've got it yeah, yeah, now you've been here a couple.

Speaker 1

This is day two now it is did you have the full walk of all the floor? Oh, my feet tell me I did for sure. So, as a spectator, which are your top three trades to spectate?

Speaker 2

Fun one. Okay, I really like spectating, I really love watching the welders because at the university.

Speaker 1

We can't. No one's picked that one yet, Really.

Speaker 2

No, well, because they've got such a great setup here. This year that we can see through. They've got the yellow screens and we can actually see what they're working on, which is awesome. I'm partial to carpentry. I love watching those things come together. And then everybody has to say baking and cooking.

Speaker 1

So everyone has said baking and cooking. Oh yeah.

Speaker 2

I mean we're all starving by the end of the day. We're all looking and going.

Speaker 1

oh, that looks really good and has been landscaping landscape everyone loves like that because they love seeing the pile of dirt and into a beautiful garden right I wish I could do it in my yard.

Speaker 2

Yeah, yeah, right and like oh, that'd be a glorious um, we actually laughed. We went and saw the landscaping guys, so like we would love to do that, except we. Our ground is frozen solid by the time we get to our territory. Flower beds.

Speaker 1

Can you build flower beds on top of? One thing figure something I'm sure they're growing carrots in the desert now in saudi arabia, so I'm sure anything is possible, absolutely yeah well, and I think what the, what the government's and what the what canada's really after and of course, this is something you kind of have to protect itself about is what's under that ice uh-huh, right, yeah.

Speaker 2

What's under that? Ice that everyone wants to get dibs on absolutely, because it's oil, it's all right, it's the minerals, yep right, you got lots of stuff under there that everyone's kind of waiting for and it's protected at this point it is.

Speaker 1

It is where it's kind of hands off yeah now, how does the skills world, you know, support that organic development of their province?

Speaker 2

oh, the skills world isn't skill like our skills group would be, definitely is understanding.

Speaker 1

Because they're going to be the leaders of these trades. We are, we are.

Speaker 2

Absolutely, and I think we do a really good job, especially in the Yukon, of working hand in hand with the indigenous groups and respecting their cultures, their communities, their land.

Speaker 1

Their land.

Competitions: Support & Team Building

Speaker 2

Yeah, exactly so. I mean there's one thing to support the trades and training, and we can absolutely do that, but also respect that this is not our land. Like this is we have to share this land and we have to respect the land.

Speaker 1

Yeah, and how much of that kind of ESG conversation happens within your group. You know to be like. You guys are kind of like the, the stakeholders of the future we are we are, you know what it actually comes up a lot um and and coming from another province and not having as much of an understanding as I have, I've it's been a huge.

Speaker 1

That's my learning curve well, where did you come from originally? Then? Ontario, yeah, yeah, yeah, she's from ontario, I mean my head office is in ontario yeah, I have to explain where saskatchewan is.

Speaker 2

Every conversation oh dear, come on guys. Oh dear, that's. That's definitely been my learning curve since moving up there it's been. It has been that and it's been enlightening.

Speaker 1

I've really, really enjoyed that part of it now in terms of you know, getting out on the floor and checking them all out. Now, if you could go back in time for yourself, knowing what you know of the trades now, which trade would you pick to be?

Speaker 2

in to be in. Okay, that's a toss-up. I would. I my my other plan when I was in school was yeah, no, like plan b solid plan b was a plumber believe it or not.

Speaker 1

Yeah, yeah, great, everyone knows it's a great job. You're always gonna need a plumber yeah, um.

Speaker 2

And then my other one. I think, now that I know a little bit more, would be heavy equipment.

Speaker 1

I think just just the operator or mechanic.

Speaker 2

Oh, that's two different trades. Either you're driving the machine or you're fixing the machine. Oh man driving man.

Speaker 1

Driving, driving, oh yeah, I've always thought that that's a great job. I feel like I wouldn't be healthy if I just drove all day. I'd have to really be like.

Speaker 2

I got to go to the gym for two hours a day, because you're sitting in a vehicle for eight hours a day.

Speaker 1

Oh man, but I love driving heavy equipment when I heavy equipment Like when. I learned to drive excavators and skid steers. I was like this would be the best job.

Speaker 2

So much fun. Yeah, it's like playing in a sandbox all day, every day, and getting paid for it.

Speaker 1

That'd be amazing when you, when you're, you know, working with the other EDs across Canada and you're planning out these things like nationals, and and you're working with the skills staff, the nationals and you're working with the skills staff, the national skills staff. You know how do you ensure that you're at the table? Is everyone represented equally? Like everyone gets a voice?

Speaker 2

Yeah, they are, we are, we are a. Really we're really good at working together. We meet every couple of months. We're always on, you know, phone, text, email away. Everybody's chatting all the time, sharing resources. We're really really good at that. So I know I can call up anybody from ontario, new brunswick, the territories and just, you know, spitball ideas and things like that, and also working together and finding like, okay, this worked really well for us.

Speaker 1

I want to share it with you guys yeah, yeah, that's great because there's always a tendency for, like the stronger, bigger teams, to take more of a lead position yeah, yeah and I think that's just organic. Yeah, not necessarily wrong, more experience um, but as like as a group, you want to be able to make sure that everyone's got the same voice at the room right?

Speaker 2

yeah, we're doing really good with that, and my experience corporate world previously um, you don't get that and it's no, you really don't, and it's hard to explain that to people who haven't seen that, but like you know, like ontario's not going to talk to bc and quebec's not going to talk to ontario, that happens, like I mean everywhere in that trades world outside of skills.

Speaker 1

Yeah, that's a big issue. It is the harmonization of the trades, the like, the movement ability within trades, within provinces. These are discussions that happen regularly and how do we remove these barriers? But it's like there's always one province. It's always either this one or this one, or this one that doesn't want to play nice yeah, like yeah come on.

Skills ED Leadership Experience

Speaker 2

Can't we just all just hit the table and work it through? Yeah, yeah, exactly, and and it's that's been so refreshing having started the job here and and working with the other eds across the country, is that everybody's got. Everybody's got to say everybody has an opinion, everybody's valued yeah, can you see yourself getting out of skills?

Speaker 1

oh, no, no, no, no, like I don't think I've heard anyone be like.

Speaker 2

This is my last year I think they have to take people out of skills in a casket, that's usually how it goes.

Speaker 1

Yeah, yeah, I mean I competed back when I was in high school in ontario and really for what it was manufacturing of all things, and that should have been my sign, yeah, that I was going to end up in manufacturing and skills, but I didn't even know about skills when I was young.

Speaker 2

I don't know. There's so many people that don't, yeah, and I was like I was a very good young welder.

Speaker 1

I feel like I made up. It may have been able to do something, but that's a mess, yeah.

Speaker 2

Yeah, no, I think once you get in, even I'm in like I have recruited people and I'm like come on, join the posse.

Speaker 1

It's going to be great. One of us, one of us.

Speaker 2

Exactly exactly.

Speaker 1

All right. Last couple of questions. You know in your two years that you've been working with skills. Now you obviously came in with your own set of skills with skills. Now you obviously came in with your own set of skills, skill sets. But here we talked lots about the essential skills, the skills for change. It's a big part of the world. What skills has skills taught you in the last couple?

Speaker 2

years. Oh man, um, we're gonna say number skills and and I'm gonna go to the the skills for success, kind of ideas I'm gonna go for that yeah numeracy for sure. Um for being in engineering. I really suck at math, and now I'm getting better at that.

Speaker 1

Yeah.

Speaker 2

And then I think you're always working on communication skills, right, and realizing that not everybody communicates via text anymore, right or not? Everybody communicates via phone call, but you have to be able to understand who your audience is and how the best way is to communicate with them and work towards that. They don't have to come and fit into your box, you have to come into theirs. So that's something I've definitely been working on.

Speaker 1

Awesome, awesome. And then the last question. You know, if you could hit the reset button and you're, and you're looking at, you know yourself as a youth and you're seeing all these things what would you tell young you in terms of getting pumped up for school?

Speaker 2

oh gosh keep with it, go like keep with the skills. Um, I I'm gonna get into a little story. Um, I was pushed into, you know, into college and university right, even college was like oh, are you sure you should really go to university? Meanwhile I'm like I I pushed back. I just wanted to go to college, I just wanted to get my mechanical engineering, I wanted to get my hands on to things right and ended up impacting hands on things.

Speaker 2

Um way back then I was said you know what plumbing? Plumbing's pretty fun. You can be your own boss, you can do something like that. So I definitely would have stuck with something with the trades, because it's it's way more fun, the people are way better.

Speaker 1

Yeah, you might have ended up in the same position anyway fair enough which is awesome, because I mean the trades led us all here somehow right, exactly, exactly it was awesome. Well, thank you so much for being on the show today. This has been wonderful. Thanks for making time, because we're here before the doors even open.

Speaker 2

That was well planned on my part.

Speaker 1

Yeah, that was fantastic so, and I appreciate you coming in and being here today.

Speaker 2

Thanks so much for having me.

Speaker 1

Absolutely, and for all the people that have been following along, make sure you check out all the skills episodes here from Regina 2025 Skills Competitions. There's going to be about 13 in total. So if you caught this one in the middle, catch them all and keep downloading, sharing and commenting on our podcast. We really appreciate your follow-up. Thank you, catch you at the next one. We hope you enjoy the show. Bye.