April 17, 2014

The South Eastern Alberta Partners for Youth Career Development (SEAPYCD) and the Medicine Hat College (MHC) present the 9^th Annual South East Alberta Regional Skills Competition and Trades and Technology Expo on Tuesday April 29^th, 2014 at the Medicine Hat College.

This year the South East Alberta Regional Skills Competition has over 100 senior high students from various South East Alberta schools competing in Auto Service, Baking, Cabinet Making, Carpentry, Culinary Arts, Hairstyling, TV/Video and Welding. The majority of the competitions will take place at the Medicine Hat College, with Baking being held at Crescent Heights High School (CHHS) and Culinary Arts being held at Medicine Hat High School (MHHS).  The top two student competitors from each category will advance on to the Provincial Skills Canada Alberta Competition in Edmonton on May 14^th and 15^th.

Sandra Moore, SEAPYCD Project Manager for the Skills Competition and Trades and Technology Expo, described the contributions of MHC and the South Eastern Alberta community in making this event a success;

“Organizing the Regional Skills Competition is a collaborative effort of many stakeholders.  Skills Canada Alberta provides numerous resources, support and funding. MHC, CHHS and MHHS provided space, resources and supplies for the competitions, and also have staff members actively involved in developing competition scopes and preparing for the competition.  Teachers of competitors volunteer after school to help students prepare for the competition, and many trades’ related organizations have supplied materials or volunteered their time on advisory committees or to judge the competitions on April 29^th.”

In conjunction with the Skills Competition, SEAPYCD and MHC will also be hosting the Trades and Technology Expo with support from Alberta Works.  Currently over 700 junior and senior high school students are registered to attend the Expo which will have numerous interactive displays and information booths from the MHC Trades and Sciences Departments, such as a Heavy Equipment Simulator and demonstrations from CADD showcasing the MHC 3D scanning station.  Local organizations will also be on hand to showcase trades and technology careers with their organizations.

“The Regional Skills Competition has been partnered with a trades awareness event for a number of years,” said Joel Gingrich, manager of trades programs at Medicine Hat College. “This year, visitors can expect even more though, with the expansion to address not only trades but a range of technology programs and careers.  Medicine Hat College is proud to be the host location for the Trades and Technology Expo, highlighting not only the tremendous career options available in our region but also providing Expo visitors the opportunity to learn about how they could launch their career into any of these fields.”

The Trades and Technology Expo is open to the public from 9 AM to 3 PM on Tuesday April 29^th in the Medicine Hat College Science and Trades Wings. For more information on either one of these events please contact Sandra Moore, SEAPYCD Project Manager – Regional Skills and Trades and Technology Expo at (403) 580-6924 or seaskills@mymhc.ca

To learn more about SEAPYCD visit our website www.youthcareer.ca or follow us on Twitter @SEAPYCD.

For more information on Skills Canada Alberta visit www.skillsalberta.com

For more information on MHC visit www.mhc.ab.ca