(Left to Right) Olds College's Jack Berggren, Ian Morrow and Laurie Newsham speak to the public.
As the World Skills Calgary 2009 competition moves into the weekend and approaches Sunday’s closing ceremonies, the hard work of numerous Olds College faculty and staff has been extremely visible. One particular highlight has come from within the Global Skills Village at the Career fair tent, where interest in Olds College courses has been extremely high.
“It has been phenomenal, just phenomenal. This is probably the best event I have ever been at,” says Tori White, Student Enrolment Officer. “With the number of students we have seen interested in our entire range of courses, it has been hard to get a moment to step away. In the last two and a half days we have given out 700 view books.”
With enrolment already expected to increase at Olds College by one to two per cent for the 2009-2010 year, it’s a level of interest that speaks to the value many are currently placing on the real life, hands-on skills this competition showcases.
Two individuals shouldering a particularly heavy workload are Dave Moroz and Jack Berggren of Olds College’s School of Environment. Beginning on August 17 they, along with many other dedicated volunteers, have literally toiled day and night to help create the landscape pavilion’s 15 sites for the Landscape Gardening competition. With Olds College being the only post-secondary institution in Canada to offer year-round landscaping courses indoors, the value of their expertise has been invaluable in assembling the topsoil, gravel, plants, shrubs, bricks and other elements that are carefully meted out in equal amounts for each team.
“I witnessed much of their work firsthand in recent days,” says Dick Thomson Chair of Olds College’s School of Trades and Career Studies. “And not only have they been doing excellent work in regards to that competition, many staff have been busy elsewhere also. “One area that comes to mind immediately is in the Try-a-Skill area where high school students have formed huge lineups to try their hand at welding, heavy equipment tech and landscape gardening.”
The World Skills Calgary 2009 competition wraps up with awards and closing ceremony at the Stampede Corral at 6 pm, Sunday Sept. 6. A celebration of the World Skills Champions takes place Monday during halftime at the CFL Labour Day Classic at McMahon Stadium.
Comments on this entry are closed.