Fall 2016 Newsletter

Inside this issue:

 

Join us this year!

Message from Gail Smyth, Executive Director

The beginning of the school year always brings so much excitement to our lives – new classrooms, new friends, new mentors, and new discoveries. The 2016-2017 school year will be a tremendous year for Skills Ontario, our programs, and competitions, with so many new opportunities for student participation and learning.

One of the many exciting things we have planned for this new school year is the launch of a new website: the Skills Work!® Online Resource will revise and renew our popular Skills Work!® Booklet, by making the information available online, more accessible and more dynamic, with the inclusion of videos and resource links.

In addition, we are excited to announce a new name for the Ontario Technological Skills Competition (OTSC): the OTSC is now the Skills Ontario Competition, and is moving to the GTA for the 2017 competition in May. The 2017 Skills Ontario Competition will continue to be the largest, most inclusive and accessible competition ever, with even more new exciting features that we look forward to sharing with you.

As always, our in-school presentations, aboriginal and young women’s initiatives and spectacular skills competitions will continue to enhance the skill exploration and development of our students. Through experiential learning and mentorship opportunities, our programming encourages students to pursue the skilled trades and technologies as viable, first-choice careers on the path to happy and successful futures.

We look forward to sharing our exciting lineup of programs, competitions, and resources with you this school year!

 

Warmest Regards,

Gail Smyth, Executive Director

Skills Ontario

 

Upcoming Events:

October 27: Career Exploration Event – Welland; Cardboard Boat Race – Marathon

November 1, 2016: Career Exploration Event – Timmins

November 6-8: Skills Ontario at OSCA Conference – visit our booth!

November 8: Skills Ontario Competition Space Reservation Opens; Career Exploration Event – Port Elgin

November 11: Pin & Medal Contest submissions due

November 22-23: Cardboard Boat Races – Thunder Bay

November 24, 2016: Career Exploration Event – Guelph

November 29: Career Exploration Event – London; Cardboard Boat Race – Espanola

December 1: Cardboard Boat Race – Sault Ste. Marie

December 6: Cardboard Boat Races – Toronto & London

December 7: Cardboard Boat Races – Ottawa

 

2016-17 Skills Ontario Program Guide – Now Online!Program Guide Cover

Learn about experiential learning and mentorship opportunities, and pathways to careers in the skilled trades and technologies with Skills Ontario!

Get involved with our diverse programming and resources all throughout the year - from Cardboard Boat Races and Video Challenges, to the Skills Ontario Competition, Young Women’s Initiatives, Aboriginal Initiatives, and In-School Presentations, we offer something for all types of learners in communities right across the province.

Our 2016-17 Program Guide is a directory for everything Skills Ontario has to offer, take a look at our online edition and get involved today!

 

OTSC is now the Skills Ontario Competition

The Board of Directors of Skills Ontario is thrilled to announce a new name and identity for the Ontario Technological Skills Competition (OTSC): the OTSC is now the Skills Ontario Competition. The competition will now share its name with its host organization, Skills Ontario, and enjoys a simpler name, making it friendlier to pronounce and easier to remember!

In addition to a new name, the Skills Ontario Competition also has a new venue in the GTA for 2017, and will take place at the Toronto Congress Centre May 1-3, 2017. The Skills Ontario Competition will continue to host events for over 20,000 students and attendees, including 67 different skilled trades and technology contests, as well as Elementary Workshops and Challenges, a Career Exploration Showcase, Young Women’s Conferences, an Aboriginal Student Conference, and wraps up with an exciting Closing Ceremony. The Skills Ontario Competition is proud to be the largest skilled trades and technologies competition in Canada.

Join us at the Skills Ontario Competition May 1-3, 2017 at the Toronto Congress Centre!

 

New Elementary Challenge: VEX IQ Crossover Challenge

Grades 4 - 6 and Grades 7 & 8

The VEX IQ Challenge provides teams of 4 with exciting, open-ended robotics challenges that enhance their science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) skills through hands-on, student-centered learning. The VEX IQ Challenge fosters student development of the teamwork, critical thinking, project management, and communication skills required to prepare them to become the next generation of innovators and problem solvers.

 

Pin and Medal Contest is open

Take your creativity to the next level and show us your designs for the 2017 Skills Ontario Competition medals and pins! These contests are open to all students who attend a high school or college affiliated with Skills Ontario.

Contest design specifications are posted on our contest page. Submit your entries by November 11, 2016!

 

Inaugural Alumni Dinner at the Skills Ontario Competition

Skills Ontario will be hosting the inaugural Alumni Dinner on Monday, May 1, 2017 at the Skills Ontario Competition at the Toronto Congress Centre to celebrate the achievements of Team Ontario and Team Canada alumni! Are you a past Team Ontario or Team Canada competitor, mentor, or volunteer who would like to get involved? Please email info@skillsontario.com for more information!

 

Guinness World Records attempt at Skills Ontario Competition

On Tuesday, May 2nd, Skills Ontario Competition competitors will go for a World Record for the most people hammering at one time! Over 250 competitors from the Home Building contest, Team Carpentry and Individual Carpentry contests, and other guests will be hammering at once for Skills Ontario’s place in the Guinness World Records! Stay tuned for more as the competition approaches.

 

Niagara College logoSponsor Feature: Niagara College, Gold Sponsor

Since opening its doors in 1967, Niagara College has grown to become a leader in applied education and is known as one of the most enterprising colleges in Canada.

A leader in student satisfaction, the College has consistently ranked among the top tier of Ontario colleges in the area according to annual Key Performance Indicator surveys mandated by the province, which also gives NC high marks for graduate employment, graduate satisfaction and employer satisfaction.

With an enrolment of more than 9,000 full-time students and more than 15,000 Continuing Education registrants annually, NC offers more than 100 post-secondary diploma and post-graduate certificate programs, skills and apprenticeship training programs, and three bachelor’s degree programs: International Commerce and Global Development, Hospitality Operations Management, and Human Resources.

NC operates from three campus locations. Its Welland Campus, set on 100 acres of green space, is home to programs in technology, skilled trades, broadcasting, communications, health and community, policing and public safety, and automotive.

The Niagara-on-the-Lake Campus provides state-of-the-art facilities and living labs for environmental, horticulture, hospitality and tourism, and business programs, as well as its Canadian Food and Wine Institute.

The Niagara Falls Campus is home to postsecondary programs and serves as a resource for Niagara’s hospitality and tourism sector.

The College features several on-campus learning enterprises which are open to the public and provide unique learning opportunities for students. Its CFWI is home to the NC Teaching Winery and NC Teaching Brewery —the first commercial teaching facilities of their kind in Canada – as well as the award-winning Benchmark restaurant. Fall 2017 will mark the addition of Canada’s first college distilling program, Artisan Distilling, to be supported by an on-campus teaching distillery – another Canadian first.

On-campus learning enterprises also include the NC Greenhouse, the Niagara Waters Spa, and a hair salon. A new apiary, recently unveiled at the NOTL Campus, will become the centerpiece of a new Commercial Beekeeping Graduate Certificate program, the first of its kind in Eastern Canada, to begin in January 2017.

A leader in applied research, NC provides students and graduates with significant opportunities to put their skills and knowledge to work with industry partners, while helping companies innovate and create new products and processes, supporting economic development locally and beyond, In spring 2016, it expanded its capacity for applied research with the opening of its Walker Advanced Manufacturing Innovation Centre, following the opening of its CFWI Innovation Centre (NOTL Campus) in 2014.

Visit niagaracollege.ca.

 

Our Head Office is moving!

Please note that as of Monday, November 7th, 2016, the address for Skills Ontario Head Office in Kitchener-Waterloo will be 7A – 60 Northland Dr., Waterloo, ON  N2V 2B8.