Skills Canada Series - Season 3 - Episode 13 with Tawna MacLeod

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!

Discover the hidden powerhouse of skills development on Canada's smallest province with Tawna MacLeod, Executive Director of Skills Canada PEI for 16 years, shares the remarkable transformation that has seen provincial competition participation grow from 68 to 320 competitors across 35 different trades and technology areas. Tawna's journey began unexpectedly in 2009 when she stepped in as interim director just months before PEI hosted nationals. What started as a temporary position became a lifelong passion fueled by the incredible young people she's worked with. "It's the kids," she explains, reflecting on what keeps her motivated through the challenges of running a non-profit organization where she wears "14 different hats" daily.

Website: https://skillscanada.pe.ca/

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 

Transcript

Introduction to Skills Canada Podcast

Speaker 1 0:01

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 this special series of the CWB Association podcast. What's so special about it is that we have been interviewing the executive directors from all the different provinces and territories across Canada for the Skills National Competencies competition in Regina, saskatchewan. Now we did as many as we could in person live on the floor, but, tawny, we couldn't get you in, so we got you here online, coming in to us from PEI, where I hear it's a heat wave. Happy to have you here, tawny McLeod.

Speaker 2 0:57

Thanks so much for having me, Max. I was super bummed not to be able to join you guys when we were in Regina, but sometimes with those teams, boy, you just never know how your day's going to play out.

Speaker 1 1:08

Well, I heard there was, you know, a little fires and things going on all the time, and that's expected. How was your overall impression of the Regina skills?

Speaker 2 1:21

Overall, it was a great competition. It was a great competition. It was a great venue. The volunteers all our volunteers really enjoyed having the space that we had in Regina. We had some great local volunteers from the city of Regina. My competitors themselves had a really fabulous event and really great things to say about it.

Tawny's Journey to Skills Canada PEI

Speaker 1 1:46

That's awesome. Now for yourself. Before we get into the bones and the broth here of what skills is like for PEI, you know, at the national level, let's talk a little bit first about your track and pathway into the executive director position. You know I've worked with skills for almost 20 years myself in some capacity or another, and I've always loved the stories of all the people that get involved because they come from everywhere. So let's start with where you're from. What's your roots? Where are you born? Where do you call home?

Speaker 2 2:20

Born and raised on PEI. Born and raised and have never left. So this has been home for well.

Speaker 1 2:26

I'm not going to tell you my age, max, but quite a number of years, at least 25 years, at least 25 years, and you know growing up in PEI, was there much focus in your young life about skills and the trades and all this, all this conversation that we're a part of now?

Speaker 2 2:47

oh god, no, um, I went to school I don't even think, max in my high school that we had, like we had, an industrial arts program but there was no specific focus on anything like welding or carpentry or any of the typical trades. And it wasn't actually until I started working with our local community college way back in 1998. And you may remember this, max, the college built a welding school down in Georgetown, prince Edward Island, back in 1998. And I started working with those programs at that time.

Speaker 1 3:29

And in what capacity? What was your role back then?

Speaker 2 3:32

I was managing programs, working as an office manager, so I was doing a little bit of everything. At one point I was writing I wrote curriculum for our commercial diving. I was writing, I wrote curriculum for our commercial diving, underwater welding commercial diving program. So I did a little bit of everything for about 10 years down there.

Speaker 1 3:54

That's amazing. And how did you get into that sphere of the trades? You know, were you like? What was it that you went to college to study and do?

Speaker 2 4:04

Well, I went to college to study and do um. Well, I um went to college, I have a business bachelor, business degree, um, and really sort of just fell into it max, like I didn't go out thinking, okay, I want to do abc. It was, you know, um, I was really young, one of my first jobs fresh out of university college, and it was in 98, 99 that PEI first started doing provincial competitions, and welding was one of the first competitions that we did, way back when that we did way back when.

Speaker 1 4:45

It's interesting because I've heard that story in a few provinces now that welding is kind of the first like introductory competition for the national or even provincial levels, which is, you know, strange to hear because it's probably one of the most expensive to get into when you think of all the other ones it is and it's one of our most expensive competitions to run for sure.

Speaker 2 5:03

So yeah, I'm not sure. I'm not sure why the provinces focused on that initially, like I think our first year that we and I was working with the college at the time back in 98, but I think in 98, skills Canada PEI may have hosted four competitions that year, and welding, of course, being one of them.

Speaker 1 5:23

That's amazing and the growth now is is incredible. So, before we get ahead of ourselves, so you start helping out with the college, you know, you start getting uh, you know involved with the trades. Um, I believe in that area, holland college was likely where you know, you're, you're working, and now that's not. All colleges get involved with skills but some do no.

Speaker 2 5:47

Right no.

Speaker 1 5:49

So what opened your eyes to this world of skills when you were working with the college?

Speaker 2 5:53

Well, I have a bit of a different road path to skills In 2009,.

Speaker 2 6:02

PEI hosted the national competition first and only time that they've hosted, and the executive director at that time went out on sick leave suddenly, very suddenly, and so in January of that year I was working with the college and the board of directors of Skills Canada. Peibi came to me because they knew I had been involved in the welding and some of the trades programs in georgetown and asked if I would step in as a interim executive director, host provincials for 2009 and help pull off that national event in may of 2009. That's a pretty short trial by fire yeah, that's a short runway.

Speaker 1 6:45

That's a short runway to get the plane off the ground yeah, yeah, so I did it.

Speaker 2 6:51

I'm not I'm not sure yet how I did it. I couldn't tell you how I did it, but I did it and uh, they actually they still some of the volunteers still talk about the event that we hosted back here in PEI way back when.

Speaker 1 7:05

So yeah, so so the trial by fire for the interim position, which obviously became the forever position you know, um, after that first year of getting involved, what was it that kept you in?

Speaker 2 7:21

um, what was it that kept me in? Really, it was the kids yeah um, it was the students, it was the uniqueness of the opportunity that the skills competitions gives to these young people.

Speaker 1 7:38

That's what kept me in it and you know, you see kind of the best of the best from every area right, and it's really wonderful. You know, one of the anecdotal things I always find is that when you work with people that don't work with kids, there's a lot of doom and gloom. They're always like the future's going to be disaster. These kids are no good. This generation doesn't know how to work. This generation can't do anything on their own. But let me tell you, I work on the other side. You know, I taught in the colleges for a number of years and with skills now a long time, and they give me a lot of hope. These kids. I see a lot of bright futures and really great talents. And you know you, yeah, these national competitions, even provincially. How can you give up on the youth when you have a room of?

Speaker 2 8:29

just incredibly ambitious Superstars, superstars, exactly.

Speaker 1 8:33

At every trade, it's nothing. Every time I come away from a skills competition I'm like we're fine. If anything, they're going to do all of this way better than we did, because all the problems in the world right now it's us.

Speaker 2 8:46

it's us like we got to get out of the way exactly yeah, and, like you said, we're dealing with kids that are really committed to what they're doing and, whether that's welding or carpentry or whatever it may be, they're committed to being the best of the best.

Speaker 1 9:05

Yeah, and for the right reasons, you know. Yeah, they're not necessarily in it for the money I mean. That always comes around.

Speaker 2 9:12

Money helps.

Speaker 1 9:13

It helps, but at that point in their lives. I feel like they're in it for the competition for that personal growth right.

Speaker 2 9:19

Absolutely.

Speaker 1 9:21

Now you started off as ED. How long ago was your? When was your first year as ED? 2009?.

Speaker 2 9:28

So 2009. So yeah, I've been 16 years 16 years.

Growth of Skills Competitions in PEI

Speaker 1 9:32

So in those 16 years how has the PEI environment changed? With skills you know? How much has it grown. How much more involved is it? How many more you know areas do you guys compete in?

Speaker 2 9:48

um, okay, well, let me think back in 2009. Uh, provincially, we had, I think, 68 provincial competitors that year in 20 different competition categories. Okay, then, the national team that year had 18 students on it okay um this past competition cycle. Our team we had 36 kids on. Our national team, we had 320 kids compete provincially, wow, wow, and we competed in 35 different competition areas.

Speaker 1 10:28

Now, that's just amazing, that's amazing, it is amazing growth and it's not just PEI Like. I mean New Brunswick, nova Scotia, newfoundland. You guys are all killing it out there in the trades.

Speaker 2 10:41

We're kind of rock stars. Kind of rock stars it is. I was out there for Atlantic Skills in.

Speaker 1 10:45

New. We're kind of rock stars. Kind of rock stars? No, it is, and I was out there for atlantic skills in new brunswick, uh, a couple months ago, um, and of course, we hosted in monkton our conference two years ago. And let me tell you and there's something I touched with with a couple other of the podcasts, because I'm from saskatchewan, I grew up in saskatchewan, it's my province, and out here in the West, there was always this kind of mentality of the Easterners come to us for the work, the Easterners come to us for the money. We're the hub of where it is if you're in the trades, but I feel like, especially going out East, spending time with tradespeople out there, that that dialogue has changed and that they're not thinking about leaving, no more. It's about what's in our backyard to do.

Speaker 2 11:31

Yeah, you're absolutely right, and I see it even coming from the college, when these students would graduate from the plumbing program, the welding program, and that was, you know, the top of mind I'm going to graduate, I'm going to write my first block and then I'm getting the heck out of here and head west yeah um, but yeah, it's not the case anymore. That's they.

Speaker 1 11:56

More and more of these young people are sticking around home, which is great absolutely it's wonderful well, there's people out here in the west now they're like, hey, maybe we should go out east. You know, the cost of living isn't quite as high as it's gone out here and there's lots of work you know, you see companies like irving that you know, like Irving, that if you're outside of the Maritimes, you don't really know what Irving is until you go, because they got a huge footprint. It's not just shipbuilding, it's everything right.

Speaker 1 12:25

You got other companies out there that are just taking off right now. Mining's coming back like it's never been before. I think it's all just gold stars out there right now.

Speaker 2 12:38

Yeah, it looks bright. I'm excited about things that will happen over the next 10 years.

Speaker 1 12:44

Now, in terms of your skills group, you know you've doubled in size for the amount of competitors and stuff. What about on the internal side? You know, as a director for your skills province, you know, have you increased double the number of staff? Oh gosh, that's a silly question Mark. How are you guys doing all this amazing work, Like how many of you are there in the office?

Speaker 2 13:11

There's me and I have a program director that works 75% with time with me, but I 100% credit our growth and our success to the volunteers that we have. Yeah, I have an incredible roster of volunteers who put a lot of blood, sweat and tears into pulling off provincial events and are committed to sharing their knowledge and their skills with young people. So it's 100% the volunteers.

Speaker 1 13:45

And are you noticing with the volunteers that sort of cyclical effect that skills have? I mean we all joke about skills is like the mafia Once you're in you can't get out.

Speaker 2 13:53

Once you're in, you're in, you don't leave.

Speaker 1 13:56

Leave, that's right and do you find that your volunteers are in that boat, that they may have been past competitors or mentors or whatever it may be?

Speaker 2 14:04

oh yeah, I would say so. Um, we have provincial tech chairs for all our competition areas. So I would say, out of those 40 chairs um, 90 of them have been former competitors yeah and you know it's one of those tough things you you'd like to bring in new blood, but you really want to hang on to those ones that you know they can pull off these competitions with their eyes closed and their hands tied behind their back right that's right.

Speaker 1 14:34

Yeah, I just heard someone say to me, like you don't want to turn away a steak, but you never throw out the beef jerky. You know it's a perfect analogy.

Speaker 2 14:43

It's perfect Like we're all looking for that nice fresh steak.

The Power of Skills Volunteers

Speaker 1 14:47

But you know, beef jerky goes a long way. So yeah now, absolutely true. You see, the people people you know get that love and that commitment to the skills network. You know we'll call it. You know where they compete. They mentor, then they volunteer, they become NTCs, ptcs. You know, they, they, they go through this whole journey within skills. What is, what is it that you think that brings them back? What is it that special sauce that makes the people want to stay and be a part of this, because it can be?

Speaker 1 15:24

a lot of work it can be a lot of work yeah it's a ton of work.

Speaker 2 15:29

Um, I think, nationally it's a couple of things. It's the excitement of that national competition right. Just the event itself. It's the networking that being a volunteer, a national volunteer, gives these PTCs and NTCs, national Technical Chair Committees, like the opportunity you know to spend a week with their peers from across Canada doing the thing that they love doing, right, even though it is doing it 14 hour days without pay on a volunteer basis.

Speaker 1 16:10

Yeah, well, at least you get sandwiches for free.

Speaker 2 16:13

Free sandwiches, free sandwiches. It may or may not be a good sandwich, but it's at least you get sandwiches for free. Free sandwiches, free sandwiches. It may or may not be a good sandwich but it's free at least.

Speaker 1 16:22

And you know it's so interesting to me watching that networking piece of it. Like I mean there's a reason the CWB group decided to become Silver Sponsors to Skills. The CWB group decided to become silver sponsors to skills and it wasn't just to like give money to another organization. That's like minded because we're kind of in the same boat for a lot of things when it comes to the steel trades. But it's more about our members are also your members. So why are we not playing in the same sandbox? You know, so many of my chapter chairs and chapter volunteers across canada are the same volunteers that are working with skills and are working with mentors and I was like, why am I making them choose between two events? Why don't we just attend the same one? You know what I mean, because it is that desire to, you know, just hang out with the other people in your profession that are also at the kind of the top of their game and their community and and just bounce things off the wall with each other.

Speaker 2 17:23

You know, Absolutely Learn, you know what they're doing in Regina and what they're doing in Newfoundland and all of those things. It's a very unique opportunity for volunteers and companies like the CWB. If you've been around skills, you've seen how the partnerships have grown with the national event over the last 10, 15 years and organizations are realizing that this event, in its uniqueness, is one of a kind and something really that they'd be foolish not to take advantage of well it's by being part of it it's.

Speaker 1 18:04

It's like the olympics, but better, because everyone's employable right like I love the olympics and you know, you know god bless the fastest swimmer in the world, but I don't know how that helps me.

Speaker 2 18:16

Yeah Right, you're not. You're not getting a paycheck for being the fastest swimmer in the world.

Speaker 1 18:22

That's right, and I and I can't hire anyone from the Olympics unless I want someone to run messages for me real fast or something.

Speaker 1 18:29

But the Olympics of trades is such a no brainer Like. I don't understand why every you know michelin level, you know restaurant, isn't attending all the top welding shops. Should be attending all the top automotive construction, like all the 82 trades or whatever. Are there the who's who of companies should be there, because this is your future, right in front of you. Yeah, like these kids, as soon as the competition's over, you should be walking up to them, offering them a job, which I know kind of happens on its own.

Speaker 2 19:01

It does happen, um, but I I've always liked to say that the skills canada national competition, specifically, is one of the best kept secrets in canada really, and you don't know until you know. That's right, like I, can sit here and talk about it until I'm blue in the face, but until you see that event and feel that energy on the competition floor, yeah, that's when you get hooked.

Speaker 1 19:27

Yeah, and you're in it for life.

Speaker 2 19:29

You're in it for life.

Speaker 1 19:31

And you know I didn't know much about skills until I became a college professor and then we got the opportunity to work with skills to get a kid in. You know, luckily enough, I was there the year of 2019. I got to go to WorldSkills in Kazan with our welder and the whole process, you know the regional skills, then the provincials, and then the national, and then nationals again because it was an off year year, so we had to go again for the second year, for the qualifying year to go to to russia, and then and then world skills.

Speaker 1 20:02

Oh my goodness, I thought I'd seen it all.

Speaker 1 20:05

Let me yeah, that's something else, that's and you know I mean national, canadian, national skills is enough to make you giddy for the rest of the year. You know it's enough to leave you inspired, like I always say to my friends, like I don't know how you leave a skills competition without a heart full of inspiration, like you're just ready for the next year of whatever. But then going to worlds and realizing that the whole world you got welders that don't even speak the same language, but, they're making best friends from other countries.

Speaker 1 20:33

And you see countries that have billions of dollars to invest in their students. And then you have these countries where you know these poor kids are practicing in the back of their, you know, church kitchen for cooking yeah, the donated kitchen from the church to cook. But there they are on the world stage and, oh my god, I'm getting the tingles just thinking about it.

Speaker 2 20:50

You know it's remarkable, and I mean it's it's the same here in in canada as well. You you have provinces like ontario and alberta, who are huge provinces huge um and like. I think ontario has something like 314 high schools. We have 12 here on pei. We have 12 high schools have 12 here on PEI, we have 12 high schools. So you get that on the national level, but it's very, very obvious at the international level for sure.

Speaker 1 21:23

So going back to that national level, you know every province kind of has their stick that they know, like, like, when you talk to your competitors you're like this one's usually ours, let's get it again. What are the ones that pei has kind of been known for to win?

Evolution of National Skills Competition

Speaker 2 21:41

oh god um. We usually do pretty good in um the it competitions okay, yeah so 3d gamer? Um, we usually manage to pull a gold home with that one nice uh, photography is another one that we usually do pretty good at. Uh, it's it's so hard to say that it's funny because when I I have the chaperones and people that travel with the team and they always ask that question before the closing ceremonies you know, which ones do you think we're going to get?

Speaker 2 22:16

and it's like after 16 years you don't know I, I, I have learned that it's impossible to guess it really is you know, you have kids that go in there and they're sure that they're going to be on the podium and they're not. And then you have other kids who they thought the competition floor on day two and they've got their head hung and they're convinced that they just completely bombed, and the next thing you know they're being called up on stage to get a medal. So it's impossible to tell, for me anyway.

Speaker 1 22:46

Well, and you know I've been, I've been a judge a couple of times, and it doesn't separate, like there's not lots that separates one from fourth or second from ninth. You know, like you're talking decimals, you're talking I mean it's the best of the best. It's like even the worst car at nascar is faster than the one I got in the garage right like I mean it's uh, it's amazing the the level that they've all worked themselves up to right now. In your experience in 16 years, how do you feel the national competition has evolved?

Speaker 2 23:19

oh, wow, it's become a beast for sure. The quality of the competitions, I think, has really improved. You know, the national office has implemented a few different things, like a CIS, which has really leveled the playing field with regard to judging the competitions. You know, they're all using the same system. Yeah, the, yeah it's, it's. It's just gotten so big. It's just gotten so large.

Speaker 1 23:52

Well, and it's opened up other platforms. You got the skills for Success platforms. Now You're looking at other sectors of the industry like Indigenous groups. When we were out at Atlantic Skills, they had Indigenous Beating as one of the competitions. I just love the diversity that it's bringing.

Speaker 1 24:18

diversity that it's bringing because one of the things that the trades has been, I guess, um put itself in a corner for the last 50 years is not being very open to women, immigrants, people of color, and you know, and it has, and I've worked in this industry, it is true, it is true and we're trying to correct that now and I think that companies like skills, organizations like skills, are opening it up to be much more diverse with the kids, which means it's going to be a much more diverse workforce in the future, right absolutely well I I can tell you even this year our um post-secondary welding competition.

Speaker 2 24:50

This year we had 12 students in it um and eight of them were female amazing. I love that yeah, I've been waiting for an all-female podium yeah, well, for the last three years, two of our three medalists at the provincial level have been female that's amazing. Very, very proud of that it's coming, it's, it's opening, it's you know we're getting better.

Speaker 1 25:14

Yeah.

Speaker 2 25:15

We are getting better.

Speaker 1 25:16

And if we can do it with the youth, especially the ambitious youth, like skills, they're going to make waves. They're not going to go out there and just put their head down and be like, oh okay, no, they're going to expect more.

Speaker 2 25:27

Absolutely. I agree 100%.

Speaker 1 25:31

Now, what about, in terms of you know, the students, the delegates that you took out? You took out all these students. I'm sure there was some chaperones plus your staff. How many of them had never left the Maritimes? How many of them was like their first trip out?

Speaker 2 25:45

Well, it's something else that comes into play is the kids that we're seeing now in grade 10, 11, 12, and the college kids that we're seeing now. These are all what we like to call COVID kids right they spent two and a half years of their education sitting in Zoom calls like this. So I think out of our 36 kids we had on the team this year, there were at least nine or 10 of them that had never left the island before yeah, how many do you think had never been on a plane?

Speaker 1 26:21

oh, I would say about half of them and then how many had ever been past ontario?

Speaker 2 26:26

and then we, and then we fly them to reach out across the country. Like it's really quite an experience for these young people. It really is good.

Speaker 1 26:37

Well, what did you hear back like feedback from the kids about? You know the regina and the trip and and the adventure, let's call it um, actually funny.

Speaker 2 26:46

You asked that. I got a card, an actual handwritten card, believe it or not, um, from one of the kids, one of the high school competitors, last week in the mail and he wrote thank you so much for the experience. It has changed my life and I will be back again next year.

Speaker 1 27:05

That's so awesome.

Speaker 2 27:06

It's incredible how many things can you do in this world where you have that much of an impact in a very short period of time?

Speaker 1 27:14

That's true. It's like within a few months really you know, on a young person. Yeah, so no one's going to pry you out of that chair for a while.

Speaker 2 27:24

They'll be taking me out by the heels. I'll be.

Speaker 1 27:26

You know I've been talking to people like I mean, in Saskatchewan we had Al Gabert for over 20 years and you know and other provinces. Through these interviews I've been, you know, 26 years, 15 years, 10 years. I love to see that. And then I've seen a few new faces around, which I also, because you got to keep it fresh too right.

Speaker 1 27:44

You got some new, fresh eds and I I love the that they get it already. You know, like you said, it only takes one go around and then you're like, oh okay, I see this is a big deal.

Speaker 2 27:58

Yeah, and I often compare the whole competition cycle because we usually hold competitions because we're a small province, they're held over a number of days rather than one day like a lot of the other provinces do. So the competition cycle, usually provincial, start the end of March, first week of April. Then we train the team for nationals. Nationals is usually held the end of May. So it's a lot of work congested into a very small period of time. And I joke with my friends I I say it's like childbirth you forget how painful it is until you're doing it again.

Celebrating PEI's Success and Future

Speaker 1 28:41

But we keep doing it again every year now you know, as, as an ed, sometimes you can't even take a break when you're at these competitions to enjoy the competition itself because you're so busy. But I've been asking every, every executive director the same question and that is if you were a spectator, you know, in regina, what would be the top three from you know the one, two, three of what you would love to, just if you didn't have to work it and you say you just were retired and had the whole week off. What would you like to watch from start to finish of a competition?

Speaker 2 29:20

Top three um, I would have to say landscape design every single year everyone has landscape even the last 15 minutes of it on day two right like oh my god, you built this.

Speaker 1 29:40

It was a pile of dirt yesterday. Where did this come from?

Speaker 2 29:43

yeah, and they move those last 15 minutes when that timer starts. So, yeah, that's an incredible one to watch.

Speaker 1 29:51

Um robotics okay not a lot of people pick robotics, good yeah like if you knew.

Speaker 2 29:59

If you knew what went on behind the scenes for the kids that designed and made those robots on their own in a high school class in a high school like the skill and the knowledge there is just mind-blowing and it's really cool to watch. Um, what would be the other one cooking?

Speaker 1 30:20

only because I'm a foodie yeah, that was baking and cooking. We're almost there yeah so landscaping and cooking were like the top two for almost everyone, which I found to be so interesting because no one picked welding.

Speaker 2 30:31

Yeah Well, you can't see anything behind the curtains and cooking.

Speaker 1 30:37

obviously, who doesn't like to eat? And I mean, I still haven't had the pleasure of eating because I'm always so busy working. And I hear people say oh, did you go get taste the whatever?

Speaker 2 30:47

It busy working and I hear people say, oh, did you go get taste the whatever it's like? No, I never get to. Yeah, you and me both.

Speaker 1 30:51

Max, you and me both now in terms of you know yourself and your skills. You know, in 16 years we talk about skills being this event that helps own kids skills. We have the essential skills skills for change network, which is about these. You know what are the essential skills you need to succeed in life. Now, in your experience with skills in 16 years, what skills have you had to learn to do your job?

Speaker 2 31:18

oh, wow, um uh. Well, when I started, I had no event management background. I had very minimal financial background, but I was a great organizer and I think that is what made me successful and what has allowed me to continue and um really believing in the organization. I think is if you didn't believe, if you don't believe in what you're doing, the work that we do, because it's so like I wear 14 hats in the last year.

Speaker 2 32:05

Right, like I'm. I'm HR, I'm the finance guy, I'm the travel agent, I'm doing in-school presentations, I'm dragging a CWB simulator around to events, like I do it all. So you really, just you have to learn to roll with the punches and just go with the flow, really.

Speaker 1 32:30

That's such a big part of it, it's true, and and it's hard teaching young people that young people get I always young people love to think that they're so flexible, but mentally they're not. They're very rigid, Right, and they get very disappointed if things don't go their way. And it's like you, you gotta let that go, they do you gotta let that go.

Speaker 1 32:46

As you get older and as you start wearing more hats in life, you realize that there's very little you actually can control on this earth. Don't stress it. Do what you can make with the best of what you got right yep, yep and I.

Speaker 2 33:00

That's what I tell the kids every, every year that first morning of competition, because I just know that at least half of them are going to freeze up that first morning. Their mind is going to go blank.

Speaker 1 33:14

Yeah.

Speaker 2 33:15

They're going to completely forget what they're supposed to be doing, even though they've been practicing for three months. So I always say to them just keep going.

Speaker 1 33:23

Yeah, you know if you forgot something if you did something wrong.

Speaker 2 33:27

The important thing is to just keep going. Yeah, you know, if you've forgotten something, if you did something wrong.

Speaker 1 33:31

The important thing is to just keep going. Yeah, now this year, how did your team do like? I mean, this is you get the luxury of being the only podcast. That's after the results came out everyone else everyone else was still on the fence about how they were doing, but let's celebrate. How did pei do? What were the medals that was brought home? What happened?

Speaker 2 33:49

What did we get this year? We got 2D animation. Our 2D animation, high school kids got a bronze.

Speaker 1 33:56

Nice.

Speaker 2 33:57

Our post-secondary photography got bronze, we got a silver in architectural technology and yeah, those were the three areas A bit below what we normally average about five, six medals which is great for a small province. We all know on a qualifying year that Quebec and Alberta bring out the big guns.

Speaker 1 34:24

Yeah, the big teams roll out.

Speaker 2 34:26

Yeah, the big guns come out on a qualified year for sure. So pleased with it and everyone. Everyone had a positive experience, and to me that is don't get me wrong, I, I love to see bring the hardware home max um, but having the kids really have a positive experience is so much more important than the medals.

Speaker 1 34:49

Well, and like I mean it sounds so cliche it almost seems silly when you say it, but they really are all winners because they're like I mean it's the best of the best. Like I always compare it to the real Olympics. I'm a sports guy, so it's like you know, or like any, like you look at a hockey team. Is anyone on that hockey team actually bad? Like no, everyone on that hockey team had to play for 20 years at the junior level to work their way up and even to the even to ride the bench. You're one of the top players in the world. Just to ride the bench, because that's professionals. Now I see skills, the same. You know you get these, these students coming in from all over Canada to compete. You already cleared all the benchmarks. You already cleared all the hurdles. You're just here to see if you're going to take some hardware home, but you could be dead last and you're still in the top 10%.

Speaker 2 35:37

You are still one of the top 10 welders across the country, exactly, exactly, like. That's no joke, it's just mind-blowing when you think of it in that way.

Speaker 1 35:47

Yeah, yeah. Now what about you know, the growth of your, your team, or your, your, your program there? What are the things that you're looking to strengthen, you know, in the upcoming year or by the next qualifying year?

Speaker 2 36:03

I would like to really strengthen our training and mentorship program. We have a ton of alumni, former competitors out there that would like to be involved in the organization. It just would take me, you know, organizing their involvement Like they are an untapped wealth. Those alumni and former competitors, because they've been there, they can tell the upcoming group you know what they're going to face better than I can I've never, competed um.

Speaker 2 36:38

so really tapping into that source of um skills and knowledge with the alumni national office Office is doing a great job. They have the National Alumni Committee that they use every year at the national event. So doing that, so growth in that, what else, you know? Just keeping things on an even keel. It's running a nonprofit organization with with you know its own special group of challenges and things like that.

Speaker 2 37:12

You're running into funding and you know human resources and all those things. So keeping that all on an even keel, um, at the end of the year I sort of do this when you come out and the, the bank account balances and everything is you know.

Speaker 1 37:29

The CRA is not knocking at your door.

Speaker 2 37:31

The CRA is not knocking at the door. It's always a good year. So a few of the challenges that I see I would like to grow the team a little bit more. Pre-covid we had about 45 kids that we we had on pei's team. I would like to get us back up to that level. Um, there's a few competition areas that we don't currently compete in that I would like to bring on board steam fitting, pipe fitting, plumbing. There's a couple um in the trades areas that I would like to see PEI participate.

Speaker 1 38:06

Just get it all rounded out, yeah.

Speaker 2 38:07

Yep, yep. So there's always something, there's always room for growth, there's always room. You know that, Max, so everywhere's right.

Speaker 1 38:15

Now, what about the importance of your local funders and sponsors? You know how has that changed over the last 16 years and how critical is it to the maintenance and expansion of your program. You know because, like you said, as a not-for-profit, there's x amount of funding that comes from, you know, headquarters. If you want to go above and beyond that, you got to go out and pound the sand to get it right. How are those relationships for you in the community and pi?

Speaker 2 38:43

um well, we would be very hard pressed to keep our doors open if it wasn't for Holland College. They support us without question every year in terms of financial and in time. They support a lot of our volunteers, our instructors from the college. They support a lot of our volunteers, our instructors from the college. So management of the college always supports their staff to be involved with skills at the provincial and the national level both. You know some of these NTCs. They're gone for seven, eight days at a national event. That's right. So we are very fortunate here in PEI in that the college and a lot of the employers that these NTCs come from, support them and you know, allow them and see the benefit for their staff being involved at the national level.

Speaker 2 39:40

You know it's free professional development really when you look at it that way.

Speaker 1 39:44

Oh it is, it's huge yeah, yeah, yeah.

Local Support and Closing Thoughts

Speaker 2 39:47

So Holland College is integral to our success and they support us, without question, the provincial government, you know. Again, financial support we work closely with apprenticeship partnership, with apprenticeship through MPEI, so it's great to have that working relationship with them. It's, you know, it's all a juggling act. It is. We appreciate you're so appreciative of everything that everyone does and the support that you get from organizations locally.

Speaker 1 40:22

Well, I hope that this podcast hits the airwaves all over PEI and you've got companies knocking on your door saying how can we support?

Speaker 2 40:29

Wouldn't that be lovely.

Speaker 1 40:32

Because we want to hire your top five of whatever trade it is. So, for the people listening, and if you know the PEI area or if you're involved, we're always looking for more people to help support these kids Absolutely. Awesome.

Speaker 2 40:47

You can never have enough good people.

Speaker 1 40:48

No, never, never. And the networking is half the game. It's funny. I have to talk to my boss about that all the time, because I run the not-for-profit side and he's always like, oh yeah, I'm like, hey, I'm on the not-for-profit side, I have to be pounding the sand, that's my job.

Speaker 1 41:03

Yeah, you get it yeah, we get it now to wrap this question or the podcast up. I only got a couple more questions, but this has been fantastic. Uh, we talked a little bit about what your favorite you know events are to look at, but let's rewrite the script for tana and and let's you know if we go back in time and you're, you know you're. You're just getting out of high school, you're looking to go into a career and, knowing what you know now about all the trades and all these careers that are available and how they go, what would you pick for a trade for the rest of your life, knowing what you know now?

Speaker 2 41:40

Oh God.

Speaker 1 41:42

I pulled out all the good ones here.

Speaker 2 41:44

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I pulled out all the good ones here. Yeah, yeah, I would probably do either carpentry or welding, and I'm not saying just because I'm sitting here talking to you, max. I'm not saying that, but it can be. I've seen some people some people with that have you know taking welding programs and they've done some really creative things as welders like really amazingly creative things. Um, I like building, I like making things, so I definitely it would either be welding or carpentry or both.

Speaker 1 42:26

I mean, they're both a construction trade. Really, why not?

Speaker 2 42:28

yeah, both, why not? Although what about yourself? What about you, mac?

Speaker 1 42:33

so here's the thing like I got into welding when I was 17, um, very young, I did go to university but I took philosophy because I just, I'm just that person that takes philosophy, I guess. But if I had to redo it all, ah geez, I'd probably say I'd want to get into teaching, okay, but I did end up being a teacher through welding. So I, like, I mean my message, I guess, to the people listening is that you can do it all through the trades, because every trade needs business owners.

Speaker 1 43:07

Every trade needs accountants, every trade needs, um you know, program project managers and engineers and people on the floor. The trades don't live in a in a vacuum, right?

Speaker 2 43:19

yeah because, even though, and, and the message is don't put yourself in a silo yes right like look at you, your 17-year-old welder and wound up being a teacher instructing at the community college. And now, here you are, a superstar on the CWB podcast, right.

Speaker 1 43:37

That's right and that's the tale. You know, that's the tale. When you get into trades, doors are all around you. You know you don't got the one door in front of you, you got a corridor and there's doors in every direction. It's up to you to decide what you want to do with your career, right?

Speaker 2 43:53

Absolutely, absolutely.

Speaker 1 43:56

I love it.

Speaker 2 43:56

And again it sounds like a cliche, but there are a lot of opportunities and doors that people can take advantage of young people.

Speaker 1 44:05

That's amazing. So you don't have anyone that's working towards the qualifying year in Shanghai. That's unfortunate, it's too bad.

Speaker 2 44:15

No qualifier for Shanghai.

Speaker 1 44:16

But next year's a new year and here we go again.

Speaker 2 44:19

Here we go again.

Speaker 1 44:21

We love it.

Speaker 2 44:22

We keep coming back for more.

Speaker 1 44:24

Where is Skills next year? I think is it back in Toronto.

Speaker 2 44:28

We're in Toronto next year, downtown Toronto. Yeah, that's going to be huge Right. And we can't let.

Speaker 1 44:35

Ontario win all of them right. Nope, and then after Ontario, I don't know if they've announced what's after that in two years.

Speaker 2 44:47

After that we're out in Calgary.

Speaker 1 44:49

Oh, that's right. They got the new convention center there in Calgary.

Speaker 2 44:52

Yes, right.

Speaker 1 44:53

So that's going to be fun I always enjoy going out west.

Speaker 2 44:57

It's a heck of a trip from PEI but the kids always enjoy it and you know the provinces out west always put on a great show.

Speaker 1 45:07

We love to host. We do love to host. Yeah, we like to show off.

Speaker 2 45:13

Yeah, yeah. People always ask me when. When's it coming back to PEI? I said well, I said at some point I'm going to retire. I said the new executive director can deal with that if she likes.

Speaker 1 45:25

Well, the problem with skills is a double-edged sword is that it's grown so big that it can only be hosted in certain areas. Now I remember when it was able to do much smaller venues because it was half the size. Now, at the size, it's really only four or five locations in all of canada that could even host it that's's right. Yeah.

Speaker 2 45:45

But it's a good problem to have it is.

Speaker 1 45:47

It is a good problem to have Awesome. Well, is there any last pieces of information you'd like to let people know about Skills PEI? Perhaps how to get involved with Skills PEI or how to find information about your group?

Speaker 2 46:02

You can check out our website. We're on all the socials. Our website is just wwwskillscanadapeca. Um, we're on facebook under skills canada, prince edward island. Uh, so yeah, either one of those you can reach out to us. We're always happy to hear from people awesome.

Speaker 1 46:20

So if you're in the area, if you're out east, you know, make sure you volunteer, give a helping hand, offer to mentor visits, whatever is, any help is usable, suppliers and vendors out there. Again, don't forget about gift in kind that's a huge thing, donations of consumables and materials, and PPE is a massive cost for all these skills organizations and that's something that I know is sometimes forgotten in the books. But you know, safety glasses can get expensive.

Speaker 2 46:48

Yeah, absolutely. We need a lot of them. Everything's expensive these days, we know that.

Speaker 1 46:53

That's right.

Speaker 2 46:55

Uh well, thank you so much. So yeah, every little bit helps for sure.

Speaker 1 46:57

Absolutely Well. Thank you very much for being on the show today. I really appreciate it. I had a wonderful conversation. I wish I would have met you here in Regina. I would have brought you out with all the welders for some drinks. But next time, oh my God.

Speaker 2 47:08

I'm going to put a bit of time. Well, hopefully I'll get a chance to see you, maybe next year in Toronto.

Speaker 1 47:14

I will be there.

Speaker 2 47:20

We'll be there with the podcast and the whole road show Excellent.

Speaker 1 47:22

So thanks very much for chatting and the opportunity to speak with you today, max, awesome Thanks, donna and for the people that have been following along on the show. Make sure you check out all the episodes. We did, I think, 14 in total. 15 episodes in total for skills. This year there's a whole series. So if you caught this one and randomly check them all out, learn a little bit about every province and territory. And also thank you for downloading and sharing and commenting on our podcast and for keeping us where we are, but we'll catch you at the next episode. We hope you enjoy the show.