July 14, 2025 • 39 mins
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!
Krystal Nieckar’s path to becoming Executive Director of Skills Canada Saskatchewan wasn't the traditional trades route. With a background in disability advocacy, corrections, and workforce development, she brings unique relationship-building expertise to an organization dedicated to elevating trades education across Saskatchewan. Krystal is excited to host the Skills Canada National Competition and welcome all competitors to her beautiful province this year, as we are in Regina, SK.
Website: https://www.skillscanadasask.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
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
All right, I check, check.
Good.
So I'm Max Duran.
Max Duran, cwb AssociationWelding Podcast podcast podcast.
Today we have a really coolguest welding podcast.
The show is about to begin.
Hello and welcome to anotheredition of the CWB Association
(00:27):
podcast.
This week we are doing aspecial Executive Directors of
Skills episodes here inbeautiful Regina, saskatchewan,
for the National SkillsCompetitions.
I am going to be interviewingExecutive Directors of all the
provinces and territories andgetting down to what's going on
in each province, provinces andterritories and getting down to
what's going on in each province.
Now in front of me right now, Igot Crystal Nykar, who is the
(00:47):
ED of my province, saskatchewan,our province.
Our province and I know I'msupposed to be completely like
you know, non-picky, but I gotmy Sask shirt on, so hey, it is
what it is.
How's it going?
Speaker 2 (01:01):
You're repping on my behalf today.
Speaker 1 (01:03):
How you?
Speaker 2 (01:03):
doing Crystal.
Speaker 1 (01:08):
I'm doing good.
I'm doing good.
How are you?
Speaker 2 (01:09):
It's good, it's been a busy, busy day.
I'm sure it's been busy for you.
Yeah, it is.
It is a lot of steps, and thisis my first national competition
, and so it's very cool to seeit all laid out really I think
you've had a lot of firsts.
Yeah, I have so how long haveyou been, ed, here at?
I'm coming up on, uh, almost 11months, 11.
(01:30):
I'll be here in july a year injuly.
Speaker 1 (01:32):
So we're talking, you know, when kids are under the
age of three and you talk aboutthem being like 28 months old I
know you're still in baby.
Speaker 2 (01:37):
Baby, I'm 11 months old.
Yeah, yes, what did you dobefore you came to work at uh,
at skills?
Speaker 1 (01:40):
that's a good question uh, I started my career
working with folks withdisabilities.
Yes, what did you do before youcame to work at?
Speaker 2 (01:44):
Skills?
That's a good question.
I started my career workingwith folks with disabilities and
, just like, really, I'm anadvocate by nature and I love to
be able to help people go wherethey want to go.
Right, I call myself arelationship builder and so then
I worked a lot in the humanservices field and so a lot of,
(02:08):
a lot of high stakes lives onthe line, kind of work at risk
youth.
I did a group home, I ran aprogram through the federal
government working with guyscoming from corrections, helping
them get employment, that sortof thing.
Uh, working with guys comingfrom corrections, helping them
get employment, that sort ofthing, um, so I, I just I love
working with people and so whenthis opportunity came across my
(02:31):
uh, across my screen, I was likethis is, this is something I
want to do so.
Speaker 1 (02:35):
How did you find this opportunity?
Speaker 2 (02:36):
just online, being like, yeah, looking for a job,
yeah right before, right beforeI came to skills canada, I was
working with Saskatoon Tradesand Skills.
Okay yeah, they gave me a coolopportunity to help short-term
intensive training to gainemployment.
That's the goal.
So get people working and Ireally love that philosophy, you
(02:56):
know.
Yeah, getting them up on theirfeet and rolling yeah exactly
Giving them an opportunity thatmaybe they wouldn't have had
otherwise, and then just makingthat those direct connections
with employers, um, they'd belike here's the work that this
person has done.
This this is, you know, I'mgonna um advocate on their
behalf to be able to to get intothe workforce.
Speaker 1 (03:16):
so so this was like trial by fire then yeah, yeah
like you had a little bit ofexperience, but you weren't a
trades person no not at all.
Speaker 2 (03:25):
I mean, I grew up rural saskatchewan on the farm
and, uh, you know you're a farmkid, so you're a jack of all
trades and a master of men,right?
None, yeah, maybe one, maybe,yeah maybe one, um, but you know
, dig in hard work community.
That's what it's all about,right, and so that is the
(03:45):
feeling that I get from thiswork.
Speaker 1 (03:48):
You came into Skills in Saskatchewan, where it was
kind of a tumultuous periodright.
But Skills Saskatchewan hasbeen strong for a long time.
We have a lot of competitors.
We do well at the provincialstage, we do well at the
national stage.
We do well at the world stage.
We do well at the provincialstage, we do well at the
national stage, we do well atthe world stage.
So you kind of came in andthere's a certain pedigree.
(04:08):
That's sort of expected right.
Speaker 2 (04:10):
For sure.
Yeah, I came in and SkillsSaskatchewan had gone through
quite a few the turnover andleadership.
And so when they brought me on,they said well, first of all,
we're looking for someone tostick around, no-transcript, and
(04:53):
and the, the, the whole thewhole process of getting to this
point has been great andworking with the national team
is super lovely and everybody isuh.
What I found is that the skillsfamily is it really is a family
.
People bring you in and they'relike here's my phone number,
call me, let's chat, let's talkabout this, let's talk about
these opportunities, let's do,let's see, maybe we can.
This year I had a coolopportunity to work with um
Skills UConn and do um acrossover of a competition, um
(05:16):
bring their kids into ourcompetition, um, because they
didn't have a PTC, um or, Iguess, a territorial technical
committee, uh up in, up in Yukon.
So I was like that's a coolopportunity that that I wouldn't
have had otherwise.
Speaker 1 (05:29):
For both sides.
Yeah, for both sides, really,yeah, yeah, very cool.
Now, when you came in, how muchstaff did you have?
What was the breadth of theorganization?
You know what was it lookinglike?
Speaker 2 (05:45):
Uh, I came in and there were um two sort of
temporary staff that wereworking there.
Um, we were fortunate enough tohave a long time skills canada
employee, um, join us, uh, oncontract.
And when I the first day Iarrived, just like here's all of
these documents I wrote it allout for you, um, and then let's
chat.
So right now, skillssaskatchewan, we're two folks,
um and two folks, and we workhard every single day to bring
(06:06):
our provincial competition tolife, and then we work on annual
programming in schools as muchas we possibly can.
And something exciting is weare working with RBC currently
and they have given us somefunding to bring in a third
employee to do in-schoolprogramming Awesome, have given
us some funding to do to bringin a third employee to do
(06:27):
in-school programming Awesome.
So that's something that isespecially from the pandemic.
We lost a lot of that.
I guess, that headway withschools because we weren't
allowed to go in and whilevirtual programming is lovely,
actually getting into theschools with the hands-on and,
you know, chatting face-to-facewith the kids is what it's all
about.
We're going to be able to dothat again, so we're excited
about that.
Speaker 1 (06:47):
One of the things that's come up with all the
different EDs I've beeninterviewing is the funding
models how importantpartnerships are, how important
funding is.
I mean, skills is federallyfunded.
There is some stuff that comesdown, but in order to be, I
guess, down but in order to be,I guess, competitive, in order
to stay abreast of, kind of thestronger provinces, you got to
(07:10):
find your partners right.
How's that been like?
Speaker 2 (07:14):
uh, good, actually, we, um like, as I said earlier,
I love to build relationshipswith people, um, and and I think
that that's where partnershipsstart is having a conversation,
finding that common ground.
How do we work together reallywell?
And what does that look likefor Saskatchewan?
Where are the gaps inemployment?
Where are the gaps in theservices?
(07:34):
Where are the gaps in education?
Even, how do we work togetherto fill those?
And what works for a partner'smandate and what works for us?
And we've been really fortunateto have some really great
long-term partners like you guysfor example and then, right now
, what we're really hoping to dois build our governmental
(07:55):
support.
Speaker 1 (07:56):
Right.
Try to access that governmentfunding.
That's out there.
Speaker 2 (07:59):
Yeah, the core funding right.
Speaker 1 (08:01):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (08:02):
And we have a little bit, but frankly we could use
more obviously, just like everyprovince and territory, but I
think Saskatchewan is a you're atrades province.
Speaker 1 (08:15):
We are Right, we're very industrial, we're very
resource rich, mm-hmm yeah.
Speaker 2 (08:20):
And so I think that needs to be reflected in the way
that the funding comes through,and not only through, you know,
whether it's career, trainingor whatever, transportation
whatever that might be.
I think it's important also torecognize that while we're doing
this work, it's not even justus.
(08:41):
You know, I always say that theteachers are the biggest
champions of skills, right?
Speaker 1 (08:47):
Because if they're not doing it, totally right.
Speaker 2 (08:49):
And so you know, sharing that, getting into the
schools to be able to find thosechampions in the schools to
bring the kids, because they'respending the time they're before
school, after school, duringschool, right, the extra
workload that they're doing ontop of all the other things.
So I think it's a combinationof, uh, getting all the
(09:12):
ministries together.
Well, good luck, and to jump onboard.
Speaker 1 (09:14):
Right, it seems like a big undertaking, but uh, it's
something that I'd be happy todo.
Yeah, small bites, just alittle bit at a time.
Yeah, yeah, totally.
Now, how many competitors do wehave here at skills national 52
there's 52 of ussaskatchewanites
saskatchewanianssaskatchewanians, I like yeah,
yeah yeah, so they're, we'recompeting over how many
different trades?
I want to say 40 I want to say40, yeah, which is great that's
(09:37):
fantastic yeah now, historically, we're pretty strong in certain
fields how are, are you?
Feeling about this year.
Speaker 2 (09:44):
I'm feeling great actually.
Speaker 1 (09:46):
Yeah, yeah, I'm feeling great.
Speaker 2 (09:48):
We have quite a few returning competitors this year,
but we have a really good cropof a new crew and they are,
they're, eager.
Some of them are a little bitshy.
Speaker 1 (09:59):
Yeah, a little nervous yeah, or timid maybe.
Yes, yeah.
Speaker 2 (10:03):
But you know, I think that they'll be, they'll be
returning and and, and we can'twait to go to Toronto, you know,
yeah, but also how cool as a,as a new, uh, comer to skills, a
brand new competitor, andyou're in Regina you know, you
just roll out of bed and yourown home and you just roll into
a competition.
Speaker 1 (10:19):
That's one of the things about being the host is
that I get to go to sleep in mybed every night.
Speaker 2 (10:25):
I'm always on the road right, right, always on the
road.
Speaker 1 (10:29):
And so.
But the other side of that is,you want to show off, you want
to showcase, you want to makesure everyone here is having a
wonderful time, right?
Speaker 2 (10:39):
And I think that we've talked about this in the
past before, but something thatSaskatchewan does really well is
hospitality.
Speaker 1 (10:45):
Yeah, right.
Speaker 2 (10:46):
We bring people in, make them feel comfortable, make
them feel at home, and you knowthe what I've heard, the
feedback is they're like, it'sso welcoming, we've had such a
good time, this is such abeautiful city, the weather is
beautiful and I was like, well,we ordered that specifically,
obviously, um it is alwaysbeautiful in the summer in
(11:09):
saskatchewan, though that's whatit is.
Yeah, it really is um, but Ithink it's also that feeling of
it's the feeling of community.
So you know, people want tocome here.
They're we're, they're excitedto have us here, um, and they
want us to come here, they'reexcited to have us here and they
want us to come back.
What I've heard is, like we'lltake you in three years.
Wouldn't that be great?
Speaker 1 (11:29):
So are you going to get to go to Shanghai, if
everything goes well?
Speaker 2 (11:34):
I think so.
I think we're going to show upduring those medal ceremonies in
a strong way, and so I think wewill have a good chunk of Team
Canada will be from Saskatchewan.
Speaker 1 (11:46):
Yeah, that makes me happy.
I'm trying to get there somehow.
Speaker 2 (11:49):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (11:50):
Dear CWB, I need funding.
Speaker 2 (11:54):
I think you'll do it.
It'll be great.
I might be all right.
I might be all right.
Speaker 1 (11:59):
Now, in terms of organizing right, you came in
fresh a little bit of tradesexperience, hopefully, like
terminologies, down some of thewords and they're like okay,
well, first we got to getthrough provincials yeah so what
was it like?
Setting that up, you know with,with, I would say at that time,
maybe only five or six monthsexperience like yeah, uh yeah,
(12:24):
yeah, small bites, not so muchyeah, there was.
Speaker 2 (12:26):
No, there was no small bites for that.
Um, somebody asked me thatyesterday.
What was it?
What was it like now thatyou're on the other side?
Uh, and honestly, max, it wascrazy it was.
Speaker 1 (12:38):
It was crazy I I were walking up to you when you were
at the line there atregistration and you looked at
me and your eyes had like nofocus, like your pupils weren't
even working.
I was like, okay, I'll comeback later.
Yeah, yeah, it was crazy.
Speaker 2 (12:51):
We were so busy, Just I.
You literally felt likechickens, running around with
their heads cut off.
Speaker 1 (12:57):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (13:07):
But I remember every time.
I would just like stop for twominutes.
I'd be like man I have justlearned so much in a short
amount of time.
Speaker 1 (13:10):
Um that my brain was exploding, well, and that's the
thing.
Like, if you can take it all in, yeah, then you've learned.
Right now, one of the thingsthat I think we've done poorly
in saskatchewan and I'm going tobe critical because I'm from
saskatchewan is that we haven'tdone great in succession, right,
like the one ed.
I go back to al gebert days.
So when ed comes, he goes,leaves nothing really for the
(13:30):
next one.
Yeah, then the next one comesand goes, doesn't really, and
that's got to stop, because yousee other provinces do much
better job, yeah, of making surethat the lessons you learn
today are learned forever, right, right, so that the planning,
yeah, can be seamless and goingforward yeah, are you, are you
working on on that sort?
Speaker 2 (13:48):
of like stability within the company, yeah, uh,
one thing that I'm uh famous foris writing everything down yeah
, I write everything down, um,even if it's like uh and and
like old school pen to paperbecause, you know it's uh, you,
I go back to my notes from, likeman, even six months ago, yeah,
and I and I look through andjust like um, the thoughts that
(14:10):
I had and I was like, oh yeah,that sparked an idea here.
Speaker 1 (14:13):
How can?
Speaker 2 (14:13):
I relate it to this Uh, but in terms of like,
building succession documents,um, we're working really hard uh
on creating uh those documents,and even by month, like we have
a.
We were fortunate with GailVent who's?
Been a longtime employee forSkills.
Speaker 1 (14:30):
Gail is amazing.
Yeah, she totally is.
Is she here?
Speaker 2 (14:33):
She is here and she left this very detailed document
.
Here's what you should be doingin the first half of this month
and in the second half of thismonth, and so we've taken that
and expanded it um to, to buildit into, because we're not in um
, I guess, starvation mode Idon't know what the right word
is right now Uh, we're movingout of that, and it feels nice,
(14:55):
and so what does stability looklike for us?
And and we received a lot ofreally good feedback from our
provincial competition.
Speaker 1 (15:02):
What are the wins?
What are the things we got toget better at?
Speaker 2 (15:04):
Yeah, and so, and despite you know, our
competition is at the end ofMarch, and then we have a
massive snowstorm.
Speaker 1 (15:11):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (15:11):
Right, which which we can't help unless we move the
competition.
Speaker 1 (15:14):
That was wild.
It was but so much snow.
Speaker 2 (15:18):
Yeah, we had 300 competitors and I think that we
had three cancel.
So, you know that speaks to thecommitment and the dedication
of the people of Saskatchewan.
You know they're they're comingto to to spend time, showcase
their skills the work thatthey've put in right.
They don't want to miss out onthat.
Um and so, just taking thatfeedback in real time, in a
(15:39):
healthy way, and and I'm veryopen to receiving that feedback
anytime people want to give itto me, and I'm very open to
receiving that feedback anytimepeople want to give it to me,
because we can't get better ifwe don't do that right yeah, and
from the competitor'sstandpoint, the event ran it ran
.
Speaker 1 (15:52):
It started to finish, metals came out Totally.
It's not like it was stalled inany way, right?
No?
Speaker 2 (15:59):
And the nice thing is that, while all of this is
happening and as a as a, as acompetitor or a NTC or or even
us, right, you see, things,they're moving, they're flowing
we don't hear about all thecrazy that's happening behind
the scenes but that's happening,it's still happening.
It's happening, Uh, and so Ithink one thing that, uh, Kari,
the other person in our, in ouroffice who's great she, her and
(16:22):
I are working together reallywell to be able to deal with
those things in real time andmove past them.
Yeah Right, and so, while itlooked, it looked great from the
outside, but on the inside itwas like holy smokes.
Speaker 1 (16:36):
Yeah, this is happening.
Speaker 2 (16:37):
This is happening, this is happening, yeah, and
then now I've got to go overhere and meet with these folks,
and I have to do this over herewith these folks and yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 (16:48):
So this over here with these folks and yeah, yeah,
so it's like it was, like theship was.
Did I just unveil some ptsdthere as you hide under the
table?
Speaker 2 (16:53):
yeah, yeah, it did.
It did feel a little bit likethat.
But come medal ceremony and youand you watch these, uh, you
watch the kids get their.
You know their names announcedand they're like it was unreal,
it's something I've neverexperienced before, and it was
very cool to be the personcalling their names.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, it was reallycool, but you know they're,
(17:15):
they're.
Speaker 1 (17:16):
It's very emotional for them yeah, plus, they've
been on this nerve nervous highfor hours, like since seven in
the morning.
They've been running on justadrenaline and, yeah, probably
monster drinks, because they'reteenagers now, but you know what
I mean.
Like yeah then, then, at thatmoment it's like a complete
(17:36):
release, right?
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (17:38):
I did it.
Speaker 1 (17:39):
I was successful, yeah, and then there's no rest
for the wicked yeah, yeah, rightback into training, right back
into training.
So then how's that process workwhen you know you're the host
province, you know like now,you're like, okay, gold medal
winners, now this is the plan.
Speaker 2 (17:55):
Yeah, national is very Skills Canada.
They're very timeline focused,which is great.
These are their strongdeadlines.
This is what we need all thisstuff in for, and so then we
just collect all the informationand get all that in, and so,
while the competitors don't feelthe weight of that timeline
(18:16):
that's impending, they get theirstuff in as best as they can.
Speaker 1 (18:19):
I'm sure they feel it in other ways, yeah.
Speaker 2 (18:22):
But it is.
It really.
It's information gathering.
That's what we do after ourprovincials are done.
And then we, we order T-shirtsand we order swag and set up bus
transportation and like how'severybody getting here?
There's a lot of logisticalstuff, and then how do the hotel
rooms work?
And then can I room with thisperson and I'm going to stay
with my mom and I'm going towrite.
(18:43):
It's a lot of like sorting thatstuff out.
I'm going to stay with my momand I'm going to right, it's a
lot of like sorting that stuffout, Um, but otherwise, yeah,
the kids are excited to be here,the kids, the young adults, I
suppose as well, because thereare.
We have adults on our team aswell.
Speaker 1 (18:54):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (18:55):
Uh, everybody's just excited to be able to get here,
uh, and so we, we sit down as ateam and do like a virtual
meeting, and here's all thethings that you can expect yeah,
be ready, this is what your dayis going to look like.
Here's your bus schedule.
Um, we send them out in a fulluh information package, um, and
then, then you know, half ofthem don't read it, but that's
(19:15):
okay yeah so in in regina, sincewe're host yeah do the
competitors get to stay in, likethe, the hotels, or are they
all?
Speaker 1 (19:25):
because I know generally for nationals and then
for worlds, competitors don'tmix with the public, right?
You want to keep them all inone room okay, we're like close
right right so did we do thathere?
Or like if you're from regina,you get to go home every night?
Speaker 2 (19:38):
yeah, we there.
There are a few folks fromregina who are staying in a
hotel um but there were lotsthat were like I'm just gonna
stay at home yeah yeah, I don'twant to deal with the hotel and
all that sort of stuff, which isfair, um, so we gave them the
opportunity yeah because nextyear, when we're in toronto,
everybody will just be in thehotel together so yeah, now for
yourself, coming into this witha limited skills background, how
(20:01):
was that learning curve?
Speaker 1 (20:02):
how did you get caught up with the, with the
expectations of knowing a littlebit about every trade?
Speaker 2 (20:09):
yeah, uh, well, I did a lot of reading, um, and then
just spending time havingconversations, uh, with our ptc
and, um, yeah, remembering theskill associated with skill
number, and I still don't haveit quite down.
There's a few that that thatget me every time Then.
Speaker 1 (20:29):
I'm like wait, what is that?
One again.
And it's usually like 39.
Speaker 2 (20:35):
And I can now see I can't remember what 39 is right
now it's 39.
Speaker 1 (20:39):
That's like a sprinkler fitting, isn't it?
Speaker 2 (20:40):
No sprinkler fittings Fitting's 55.
Speaker 1 (20:42):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (20:43):
Yeah, and I would if I didn't know that the UA might
get very mad at me, but I doknow it.
39 is like architectural designmaybe.
Speaker 1 (20:56):
You're absolutely wrong.
I don't know.
I know welding.
I don't know.
Don't hold it against me.
Skill 39.
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (21:03):
I did a lot of reading right.
Speaker 1 (21:05):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (21:05):
As I one of my, in this role that I'm in, one of my
, my biggest fears is, uh,looking stupid and I don't like
to do, I don't like to feel thatway or feeling stupid, so, uh,
so I do love reading, yeah butat least not enough to be
dangerous.
Speaker 1 (21:19):
I'll watch.
Speaker 2 (21:20):
I'll watch some videos, try, you know figure it
out what's, yeah, exactly theinternet is a is a vast place of
mostly wonderful information Igive it 50, 50 but, but there's
good stuff in there yeah, do myresearch right yeah, when we
talk about skills, there'salways the concept of the
essential skills skills forchange is a part of the
(21:41):
essential skills network.
Speaker 1 (21:43):
What skills have you been taught working for skills?
Speaker 2 (21:48):
oh, that's a really good question, max.
I think integrity is is one ofthe biggest ones for me.
Um is making sure that I amintentionally.
Am I doing this for me?
Am I doing this for my partners?
Intentionally?
Am I doing this for me?
Am I doing this for my partners?
Like, who am I doing this for?
(22:09):
And at the end of the day, itall has to come back to the
competitors.
You know, the reason that we'rehere is for the kids, right,
and ensuring that we, that thefocus is on that, and is it?
Is it the best for them?
Yeah, right, I mean, I, I stillhave to work with my
organization and make sure that,um, we're doing what's best for
(22:32):
the organization, but theintention is for the kids.
Speaker 1 (22:36):
For the kids?
Yeah, yeah, and is thatsomething that you know you want
to model now, like in terms ofyour leadership?
Speaker 2 (22:44):
I think so yeah um, I I think you know being as
honest as possible about mostthings and and and.
When I think about integrity,it's not just you know
approaching everything right,not just doing the right thing,
but it's like um beingaccountable, yeah, making sure
(23:07):
that we follow through and we wedo what we say you're gonna do,
and so if I'm building arelationship with you and you
ask me for this thing, and evenif it is as simple as um
remembering to send you an emailback, yeah like, like, that's
it right?
uh, or is it making connectionswith people to um?
You know, I'm gonna gonnaconnect you with a, a school in
(23:28):
northern saskatchewan.
That would be a really good fitfor you.
Speaker 1 (23:31):
Yeah, right.
Speaker 2 (23:31):
Like that.
Those are the things that areimportant and so, making sure
that that I'm yeah, I'm going todo what I said I'm going to do
at the end of the day.
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (23:41):
What about the outreach into the more rural
communities?
That's always been an issue inSaskatchewan, because we are a
big province, big province.
With a small population rightso how do you get that reach
into areas that A probably don'thave the programs and then B
may not even know about skillsat all?
Speaker 2 (23:58):
Right, I think it's being intentional about it right
.
And so my focus coming in wasto sort of you know right that
ship, so to speak, and gain thatstability, and then with that
(24:22):
it allows me to step forwardabout skills and that they have
an opportunity to maybe whetherwe do a trade and deck day or
even just be able to do someschool programming.
And what does that?
Speaker 1 (24:33):
programming look like Be involved somehow.
Yeah right.
Speaker 2 (24:35):
And so is that programming, you know,
accommodating.
Maybe some of the programs thatthey're doing up north and then
also with rural, is beingintentional about that.
So one thing that skills doesis we do trade and tech days
throughout um, throughout theyear, usually try to do like
five or six um and and lots oftimes we uh, we've gone to to
(24:57):
larger schools because we getthat um, we get the numbers yeah
, it's an easy kpi yeah yeah,right, we, we have the numbers
that we need to meet each year.
Speaker 1 (25:08):
And how do we?
Speaker 2 (25:09):
do that, but you know , being able then to talk to our
funders and say right, we maynot have reached 10,000 kids,
but I reached 5,000 in a reallygood way, and that's over 15
schools as opposed to eight.
Speaker 1 (25:20):
Exactly Right.
Speaker 2 (25:22):
And so you know, making sure that I'm intentional
and when I'm doing my trade andtech days, I'm going to Yorkton
, saskatchewan.
I'm going to, you know, likethe Four Corners basically.
Speaker 1 (25:30):
Yeah, the Swift Currents and the Yorktons, yeah,
exactly.
Making sure that I'm not justyou know, going to PA and
calling that north.
Look at the map.
You're not even halfway there.
Yeah, I know.
Yeah, exactly, so yeah.
Speaker 2 (25:44):
I think being very intentional about it.
Speaker 1 (25:46):
Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (25:47):
And so we're in the middle of building a new
strategic plan, and that will bepart of it.
Speaker 1 (25:52):
Well, I know that we've supported lots of camps.
Speaker 2 (25:54):
We're in partnerships with you guys.
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (25:56):
And that's also one of our focuses coming up is you
know how do we get into theNorth?
Yeah, and trying to figure thatout because it's you know, I
think the technology is startingto make it a little bit easier.
Like you know, the thoughts arelike do we send a bunch of
simulators up north and havelike a week of welding via?
Simulator yeah for sure, and Ithink the ideas are there and
it's just a matter of gettingthe right partners lined up
(26:17):
right, yeah and funding.
Speaker 2 (26:19):
Yeah funding yeah.
Speaker 1 (26:21):
I find that we can get money, that's true, right.
I find that we can get money.
That's true, right, like if yougot a good plan and you're
authentic about it and maybejust I'm real stubborn, but when
I want to get something off theground, there's a way, there's
a way, you know.
Speaker 2 (26:36):
Yeah, I do feel that about you, max, yeah.
Speaker 1 (26:41):
And even the idea, like I brought this to the CWB,
is that before it was all justchasing the three biggest
welding companies for money andand if they said no, wow, that's
it, go home and hang your head,you failed.
And for me it was like no, I'mgonna chase the next layer of
industry and if they say no,then I'm going after the next
layer of industry and I don'tcare if I end up at uncle bob's
welding, you know, and they flipme 50 bucks right, it'll help.
Speaker 2 (27:02):
It'll help, right.
You know those mom and popwelding shops oh, that really
went.
Uh, they, uh, they have,they're established in that
community and they have thoserelationships and and they need
stuff too bob's welding, knowsjack's welding and knows steve's
welding, right like.
Speaker 1 (27:18):
All of those connections are there and then
boom, you're in jack or sittingover coffee complaining that
they can't find any good welders.
Speaker 2 (27:23):
exactly, exactly and so that's how those connections
are made, and that's what Ireally love about this role is
being able to, to to make thoseconnections.
Speaker 1 (27:31):
Are you a part of rural Saskatchewan?
In any way, I grew up in ruralSaskatchewan.
Yeah, okay, we're about.
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (27:37):
I grew up in a little town called Rama Rama.
Speaker 1 (27:39):
Where's Rama Dama dama ding dong?
What's that song?
Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (27:46):
And then I always say you know your grandma's from
Rama.
Speaker 1 (27:49):
Everybody knows your grandma from Rama yeah.
Speaker 2 (27:51):
It's about two and a half hours east of Saskatoon on
Highway 5.
Speaker 1 (27:54):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (27:54):
Yeah, so it's right in between Kenora and Wadena.
Speaker 1 (27:57):
Oh perfect, I know where that is, yeah.
Speaker 2 (27:59):
And so I grew up on a farm and my dad did his own.
You know cowboy welding on thefarm whenever he needed to.
Speaker 1 (28:06):
Yeah, 60-13,.
Slam it in, let's go.
Speaker 2 (28:09):
Yeah, yeah, totally.
He'll be so proud when I tellhim that, yeah, so rural
Saskatchewan is in my budget.
Speaker 1 (28:17):
So you understand those dynamics.
Now, what about the cities?
Because I hate to say it, butRegina and Saskatoon, we've
basically decimated our tradesprograms in high schools.
They're a 10th of what theywere 15 years ago.
Most of the high schools don'thave any major trades or
(28:37):
construction programs anymore.
How do you pitch skills to aschool that doesn't even have
access to it anymore?
Speaker 2 (28:43):
I know, yeah, that is hard and it's definitely
something that's that's been achallenge, um, and for them it
is.
It is a funding related rightbecause, you know the way that
the the teachers are workingthese days yeah, they're not
going to make a program out ofthe air.
No, they're not um, but if they, I find that if they can, they
will right they're, they'rethose.
Speaker 1 (29:05):
They have the passion if it's in their blood.
Speaker 2 (29:07):
They're going to do it and I think slowly the push
is coming for that fundingbecause of the gap in services.
That's coming very soon, right.
Speaker 1 (29:18):
Not very soon happening right now.
Speaker 2 (29:20):
Right.
Yes, of course you're right.
Speaker 1 (29:22):
Yeah, because I was just at a meeting in Toronto at
the CAF conference and they weretalking, talking about one of
the statistics they brought upwas we've been talking about
this impending shortcoming ofworkers.
We're past impending.
Speaker 2 (29:35):
Right, we need to change the vocabulary on that
for sure.
Speaker 1 (29:38):
Because from 2025 to 2024, retirees across Canada
doubled.
So it's already starting RightLike the big drop off that we've
all been like Ooh, the big dropoff's coming, it's here, it's
here, yeah, so like we've beentrying to figure out how to
solve this, well get on yourhorse, buddy, it's, it's right
now.
Speaker 2 (29:56):
Uh, yeah, so I, I, you know I don't want to call
anybody out, but I'm going tobecause it's your role when
you're in government.
It was the deputy minister ofeducation and one of the
(30:17):
teachers in the crowd said thefirst thing that always gets cut
is PAA funding, and I'm noteven a teacher and I know that.
Speaker 1 (30:24):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (30:25):
But he wasn't aware of that and I was like it's
pretty obvious, bro, yeah.
And so I was.
It's a shocking yeah that hedidn't know that um, and so I
was like okay, so where, where?
Speaker 1 (30:39):
do we go from here right?
Speaker 2 (30:41):
uh, and and in the room with simsa.
What they're trying to do islike build the, the support for
the education system from thepeople who have the money right
now, and that's industry.
Yeah, right, and I think it's asmart model bringing that in to
be able to.
Speaker 1 (30:59):
We need to hire you At least reinforce what we have,
yeah, yeah exactly.
Speaker 2 (31:03):
And I mean, you know the folks with the money,
they're going to sway thegovernment and so, yeah, it's a
smart model.
But in terms of of the schoolsit's, you know, it's talking to
the principals and getting themto buy in and even if they don't
have the programs, um, you know, maybe it's bringing kids to.
So I think in Saskatoon there'sthree or four core schools that
(31:23):
have good um constructionprograms.
So whether it's weldingautomotive, uh an HCAP uh class.
Um, you know bringing the kidsin for that and and and uh, you
know advocating for that from askills with the weight of skills
behind it yeah, yeah, I know insaskatchewan they went with us,
or in regina they went with a,a core, a core school, like a
(31:45):
hub school they called it rightthey canceled all the trades
programs and just made oneschool like the trade school,
and I just don't see how that'sbetter than having the trades
program be right down thehallway you gotta get on a bus
once a week to take and that'snot attractive to anybody like
no one
Speaker 1 (32:02):
no, and I don't know why you would expect kids to be
on board for that.
And on the back end I hear well, we don't have enough trades
people, we don't have enoughtrades people.
Well, we we.
We need them to have themsomewhere for them to train.
Right, the colleges, I think,are established yeah but you
know we need.
Speaker 2 (32:20):
Their numbers are down, but their numbers are way
down.
Speaker 1 (32:22):
And then, if you look at the international student
factor, it's even more yeah andso then they lose all the
funding yeah, yeah, it's a toughpickle, it's a cluster it's a
cluster cluster, doodle acluster Cluster doodle, a
cluster doodle, and we don'twant to get into too much of
politics and the cluster doodlesof politics.
Speaker 2 (32:40):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 (32:41):
But the reality is is that we need to find ways for
young people or people lookingto transition into the trades,
start the trades, stay in thetrades Right and fill those
roles right from the bottom tothe top, including management
and the only way you're going todo that is by events like this
organizations like yours yeahwhere you're gonna.
(33:04):
You're trying your best to makeit sexy, make glamorize it yeah
, make it fun.
And I mean and give theinformation out of the options
available.
I mean, I brought my parentshere today.
My dad's been in the trades hiswhole life.
My mom used to work inmanufacturing and they walked
through the floor and they'relike, is this all a competition?
I'm like, yeah, all of it.
And they're like all yeah, yeah, they have no idea, right it's
(33:29):
like, and I mean I don't thinkpeople, the general population
knows about this.
Speaker 2 (33:34):
Yeah, but I think that the trades are very cool in
the way that you could startout as an electrician or a
welder or working on a heavyvehicle, and you start out as a
technician, you start out as,like an apprentice and you work
your way up and then the doorsthat that opens, right, I mean,
(33:56):
look at yourself right.
And now you're you're a famouspodcaster.
Speaker 1 (34:01):
Thank you to all 14 of my listeners.
I very much appreciate you, youknow.
Speaker 2 (34:07):
I think that it's.
It's incredible that the doorsthat it opens the opportunities
that are available to you.
You know I think of of thefolks, the opportunities that
are available to you.
You know I think of of thefolks, the partners that we work
with, and they're like.
You know what?
When I was 18, I got into thistrade and look at me now I'm the
director of training of the UA.
You know what I mean.
Like it's, it's even openopportunities that are adjacent.
Speaker 1 (34:27):
That you don't realize, like, for example,
example for me, once I got myred seals and I started, you
know, making some good moneyyeah I was able to go to back to
school yeah, and take nightclasses because I could afford
it and it wasn't a big stressanymore.
And I'm not trying to take fiveclasses a semester and hammer
out some magical thing, right.
Speaker 2 (34:43):
I was just like, oh, this class looks super
interesting this semester, yeah,and so I would take a class a
class.
Speaker 1 (34:50):
While you do that every semester, in seven years
you have a second degree.
Yeah, like you, it just and atno real expense.
Right, because the trades giveyou that luxury.
Speaker 2 (35:02):
The time and the money right.
I was having a conversationwith someone this morning about
like how do we make tradesinteresting to young people, um,
so that they go directly them.
And you know, there's thatconversation about like I'm a
Gen Z, I'll never be able toafford a house.
Go into a trade house in fiveyears.
Problem solved.
Speaker 1 (35:22):
What you talking about and I was like that's how
we sell it.
Speaker 2 (35:24):
That's how we should sell it to the young people
House in five years.
I'm going to steal that.
Speaker 1 (35:28):
We're going to do it.
We're going to make memes,memes all week yeah, I love it.
I was like that's so smart yeahawesome well two questions to
wrap it up okay, two questionsto wrap it up.
So for yourself with skills,yeah, what?
What are you hoping you knowyour group does here?
How many world competitors arewe going to get out?
Speaker 2 (35:44):
of here.
What do we?
Speaker 1 (35:45):
because you got what?
What do you say?
52 competitors?
Yeah and I know I got my.
I got my bets down on a fewyeah and we do represent very
well generally.
Speaker 2 (35:55):
Yeah, we do, but we got a couple of recurrings, yeah
Right.
Speaker 1 (35:58):
So who do you think's in it for a world?
Speaker 2 (36:00):
Oh, you want me to name names.
Speaker 1 (36:01):
Or even just trades.
Speaker 2 (36:02):
Okay, I think our welders are going to do well, I
think.
Speaker 1 (36:10):
We've gone to worlds a number of times in
Saskatchewan.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (36:14):
Uh, I think Mechanical CAD is going to do
really well.
Speaker 1 (36:16):
Good, I think Graphic Design is going to do really
well.
Graphic Design we've gone toWorlds a few times yeah.
Speaker 2 (36:22):
Um, oh, I think.
Hmm, I'm just trying to put thespaces in in where they're
located.
Uh, I think that we're going tomedal in a fair number of
competitions.
I don't know that we'll go toWorlds in all of them, but I
(36:43):
think I want to say five.
Speaker 1 (36:44):
I'm going to say five that would be fantastic.
I'm with you.
I'm with you there, yeah.
Speaker 2 (36:49):
I think we got three in the bag for sure, good, good.
Speaker 1 (36:55):
Hopefully the judges hear that too.
I'll make my pro-line betstonight.
Speaker 2 (36:58):
Well, can you imagine if you could pro-line bet on a?
Speaker 1 (37:01):
I don't see why not.
That would be wild.
Speaker 2 (37:03):
There you go.
Maybe that's your next endeavor.
I feel like that's highlyimmoral, but that's fine.
Speaker 1 (37:07):
Sorry Killing me with laughter here.
Last question Okay sorrykilling me with the laughter
here.
Last question okay, so if you,because this is a short, quick,
fast route you're on right nowyeah if you have a young
competitor in front of yougetting disheartened, things are
rough.
How are you going to inspirethem to crush it going?
Speaker 2 (37:29):
sure you know, I I like, I like having honest.
I I'm not a small talker.
I do not like it.
It's not something I enjoy, andso I like getting deep and
heavy with people fast, and so Ithink it's an easy way to like
cut through all of the or youngpeople, let's say we have a
(37:50):
secondary competitors having ahard time um, just sitting down
and be like what is your goal?
What did you want to accomplishwhen you got here in the first
place?
Was it to attend?
Was it to just like, maybeovercome some anxiety?
Did you want to win thecompetition?
How do we get back to that goal?
And maybe it's deep breathingand maybe it's like a hard
conversation, um, but I thinkit's coming back to that, to
(38:14):
that authentic reason why youjoined in the first place.
And is it because your dad was awelder or your cousin is a
carpenter?
Is it like?
What is the reason?
And let's go back to that andfocus on why you're genuinely
here, and I think that thatauthenticity of like at the base
of it is joy of doing somethingthat you love.
Um, that comes through yeah,and it'll come through in your
(38:37):
work, it'll come through in yourskill, it'll come through, uh,
in your potential meddling yeah,yeah, I'm so pumped for
saturday morning yeah, me toolike I can't wait to see.
Speaker 1 (38:46):
I want to go check on the welders again this
afternoon.
Yeah, I was looking at all thewelds today.
I was like, oh, I don't.
I started like my judge, I'vejudged before.
So my judge's hat but then I'mlike don't do that.
Speaker 2 (38:58):
Don't do that, don't take yourself, don't be critical
yeah.
Speaker 1 (39:01):
That's hard to do.
Speaker 2 (39:02):
Yeah, I know, I know it is hard.
I know it is hard, yeahappreciate it.
Speaker 1 (39:12):
Yeah, it was great, awesome and for all the people
that have been following, alongwith the podcast, make sure you
check out the entire skillsseries for 2025 here in Regina,
saskatchewan, and also all ourpodcasts.
Keep downloading, sharing andcommenting.
We appreciate it and love you.
Thanks, catch you the nextepisode.
We hope you enjoy the show.
All right, I check, check.
Good.
So I'm Max Duran.
Max Duran, cwb AssociationWelding Podcast podcast podcast.
Today we have a really coolguest welding podcast.
The show is about to begin.
Hello and welcome to anotheredition of the CWB Association
(00:27):
podcast.
This week we are doing aspecial Executive Directors of
Skills episodes here inbeautiful Regina, saskatchewan,
for the National SkillsCompetitions.
I am going to be interviewingExecutive Directors of all the
provinces and territories andgetting down to what's going on
in each province, provinces andterritories and getting down to
what's going on in each province.
Now in front of me right now, Igot Crystal Nykar, who is the
(00:47):
ED of my province, saskatchewan,our province.
Our province and I know I'msupposed to be completely like
you know, non-picky, but I gotmy Sask shirt on, so hey, it is
what it is.
How's it going?
Speaker 2 (01:01):
You're repping on my behalf today.
Speaker 1 (01:03):
How you?
Speaker 2 (01:03):
doing Crystal.
Speaker 1 (01:08):
I'm doing good.
I'm doing good.
How are you?
Speaker 2 (01:09):
It's good, it's been a busy, busy day.
I'm sure it's been busy for you.
Yeah, it is.
It is a lot of steps, and thisis my first national competition
, and so it's very cool to seeit all laid out really I think
you've had a lot of firsts.
Yeah, I have so how long haveyou been, ed, here at?
I'm coming up on, uh, almost 11months, 11.
(01:30):
I'll be here in july a year injuly.
Speaker 1 (01:32):
So we're talking, you know, when kids are under the
age of three and you talk aboutthem being like 28 months old I
know you're still in baby.
Speaker 2 (01:37):
Baby, I'm 11 months old.
Yeah, yes, what did you dobefore you came to work at uh,
at skills?
Speaker 1 (01:40):
that's a good question uh, I started my career
working with folks withdisabilities.
Yes, what did you do before youcame to work at?
Speaker 2 (01:44):
Skills?
That's a good question.
I started my career workingwith folks with disabilities and
, just like, really, I'm anadvocate by nature and I love to
be able to help people go wherethey want to go.
Right, I call myself arelationship builder and so then
I worked a lot in the humanservices field and so a lot of,
(02:08):
a lot of high stakes lives onthe line, kind of work at risk
youth.
I did a group home, I ran aprogram through the federal
government working with guyscoming from corrections, helping
them get employment, that sortof thing.
Uh, working with guys comingfrom corrections, helping them
get employment, that sort ofthing, um, so I, I just I love
working with people and so whenthis opportunity came across my
(02:31):
uh, across my screen, I was likethis is, this is something I
want to do so.
Speaker 1 (02:35):
How did you find this opportunity?
Speaker 2 (02:36):
just online, being like, yeah, looking for a job,
yeah right before, right beforeI came to skills canada, I was
working with Saskatoon Tradesand Skills.
Okay yeah, they gave me a coolopportunity to help short-term
intensive training to gainemployment.
That's the goal.
So get people working and Ireally love that philosophy, you
(02:56):
know.
Yeah, getting them up on theirfeet and rolling yeah exactly
Giving them an opportunity thatmaybe they wouldn't have had
otherwise, and then just makingthat those direct connections
with employers, um, they'd belike here's the work that this
person has done.
This this is, you know, I'mgonna um advocate on their
behalf to be able to to get intothe workforce.
Speaker 1 (03:16):
so so this was like trial by fire then yeah, yeah
like you had a little bit ofexperience, but you weren't a
trades person no not at all.
Speaker 2 (03:25):
I mean, I grew up rural saskatchewan on the farm
and, uh, you know you're a farmkid, so you're a jack of all
trades and a master of men,right?
None, yeah, maybe one, maybe,yeah maybe one, um, but you know
, dig in hard work community.
That's what it's all about,right, and so that is the
(03:45):
feeling that I get from thiswork.
Speaker 1 (03:48):
You came into Skills in Saskatchewan, where it was
kind of a tumultuous periodright.
But Skills Saskatchewan hasbeen strong for a long time.
We have a lot of competitors.
We do well at the provincialstage, we do well at the
national stage.
We do well at the world stage.
We do well at the provincialstage, we do well at the
national stage, we do well atthe world stage.
So you kind of came in andthere's a certain pedigree.
(04:08):
That's sort of expected right.
Speaker 2 (04:10):
For sure.
Yeah, I came in and SkillsSaskatchewan had gone through
quite a few the turnover andleadership.
And so when they brought me on,they said well, first of all,
we're looking for someone tostick around, no-transcript, and
(04:53):
and the, the, the whole thewhole process of getting to this
point has been great andworking with the national team
is super lovely and everybody isuh.
What I found is that the skillsfamily is it really is a family
.
People bring you in and they'relike here's my phone number,
call me, let's chat, let's talkabout this, let's talk about
these opportunities, let's do,let's see, maybe we can.
This year I had a coolopportunity to work with um
Skills UConn and do um acrossover of a competition, um
(05:16):
bring their kids into ourcompetition, um, because they
didn't have a PTC, um or, Iguess, a territorial technical
committee, uh up in, up in Yukon.
So I was like that's a coolopportunity that that I wouldn't
have had otherwise.
Speaker 1 (05:29):
For both sides.
Yeah, for both sides, really,yeah, yeah, very cool.
Now, when you came in, how muchstaff did you have?
What was the breadth of theorganization?
You know what was it lookinglike?
Speaker 2 (05:45):
Uh, I came in and there were um two sort of
temporary staff that wereworking there.
Um, we were fortunate enough tohave a long time skills canada
employee, um, join us, uh, oncontract.
And when I the first day Iarrived, just like here's all of
these documents I wrote it allout for you, um, and then let's
chat.
So right now, skillssaskatchewan, we're two folks,
um and two folks, and we workhard every single day to bring
(06:06):
our provincial competition tolife, and then we work on annual
programming in schools as muchas we possibly can.
And something exciting is weare working with RBC currently
and they have given us somefunding to bring in a third
employee to do in-schoolprogramming Awesome, have given
us some funding to do to bringin a third employee to do
(06:27):
in-school programming Awesome.
So that's something that isespecially from the pandemic.
We lost a lot of that.
I guess, that headway withschools because we weren't
allowed to go in and whilevirtual programming is lovely,
actually getting into theschools with the hands-on and,
you know, chatting face-to-facewith the kids is what it's all
about.
We're going to be able to dothat again, so we're excited
about that.
Speaker 1 (06:47):
One of the things that's come up with all the
different EDs I've beeninterviewing is the funding
models how importantpartnerships are, how important
funding is.
I mean, skills is federallyfunded.
There is some stuff that comesdown, but in order to be, I
guess, down but in order to be,I guess, competitive, in order
to stay abreast of, kind of thestronger provinces, you got to
(07:10):
find your partners right.
How's that been like?
Speaker 2 (07:14):
uh, good, actually, we, um like, as I said earlier,
I love to build relationshipswith people, um, and and I think
that that's where partnershipsstart is having a conversation,
finding that common ground.
How do we work together reallywell?
And what does that look likefor Saskatchewan?
Where are the gaps inemployment?
Where are the gaps in theservices?
(07:34):
Where are the gaps in education?
Even, how do we work togetherto fill those?
And what works for a partner'smandate and what works for us?
And we've been really fortunateto have some really great
long-term partners like you guysfor example and then, right now
, what we're really hoping to dois build our governmental
(07:55):
support.
Speaker 1 (07:56):
Right.
Try to access that governmentfunding.
That's out there.
Speaker 2 (07:59):
Yeah, the core funding right.
Speaker 1 (08:01):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (08:02):
And we have a little bit, but frankly we could use
more obviously, just like everyprovince and territory, but I
think Saskatchewan is a you're atrades province.
Speaker 1 (08:15):
We are Right, we're very industrial, we're very
resource rich, mm-hmm yeah.
Speaker 2 (08:20):
And so I think that needs to be reflected in the way
that the funding comes through,and not only through, you know,
whether it's career, trainingor whatever, transportation
whatever that might be.
I think it's important also torecognize that while we're doing
this work, it's not even justus.
(08:41):
You know, I always say that theteachers are the biggest
champions of skills, right?
Speaker 1 (08:47):
Because if they're not doing it, totally right.
Speaker 2 (08:49):
And so you know, sharing that, getting into the
schools to be able to find thosechampions in the schools to
bring the kids, because they'respending the time they're before
school, after school, duringschool, right, the extra
workload that they're doing ontop of all the other things.
So I think it's a combinationof, uh, getting all the
(09:12):
ministries together.
Well, good luck, and to jump onboard.
Speaker 1 (09:14):
Right, it seems like a big undertaking, but uh, it's
something that I'd be happy todo.
Yeah, small bites, just alittle bit at a time.
Yeah, yeah, totally.
Now, how many competitors do wehave here at skills national 52
there's 52 of ussaskatchewanites
saskatchewanianssaskatchewanians, I like yeah,
yeah yeah, so they're, we'recompeting over how many
different trades?
I want to say 40 I want to say40, yeah, which is great that's
(09:37):
fantastic yeah now, historically, we're pretty strong in certain
fields how are, are you?
Feeling about this year.
Speaker 2 (09:44):
I'm feeling great actually.
Speaker 1 (09:46):
Yeah, yeah, I'm feeling great.
Speaker 2 (09:48):
We have quite a few returning competitors this year,
but we have a really good cropof a new crew and they are,
they're, eager.
Some of them are a little bitshy.
Speaker 1 (09:59):
Yeah, a little nervous yeah, or timid maybe.
Yes, yeah.
Speaker 2 (10:03):
But you know, I think that they'll be, they'll be
returning and and, and we can'twait to go to Toronto, you know,
yeah, but also how cool as a,as a new, uh, comer to skills, a
brand new competitor, andyou're in Regina you know, you
just roll out of bed and yourown home and you just roll into
a competition.
Speaker 1 (10:19):
That's one of the things about being the host is
that I get to go to sleep in mybed every night.
Speaker 2 (10:25):
I'm always on the road right, right, always on the
road.
Speaker 1 (10:29):
And so.
But the other side of that is,you want to show off, you want
to showcase, you want to makesure everyone here is having a
wonderful time, right?
Speaker 2 (10:39):
And I think that we've talked about this in the
past before, but something thatSaskatchewan does really well is
hospitality.
Speaker 1 (10:45):
Yeah, right.
Speaker 2 (10:46):
We bring people in, make them feel comfortable, make
them feel at home, and you knowthe what I've heard, the
feedback is they're like, it'sso welcoming, we've had such a
good time, this is such abeautiful city, the weather is
beautiful and I was like, well,we ordered that specifically,
obviously, um it is alwaysbeautiful in the summer in
(11:09):
saskatchewan, though that's whatit is.
Yeah, it really is um, but Ithink it's also that feeling of
it's the feeling of community.
So you know, people want tocome here.
They're we're, they're excitedto have us here, um, and they
want us to come here, they'reexcited to have us here and they
want us to come back.
What I've heard is, like we'lltake you in three years.
Wouldn't that be great?
Speaker 1 (11:29):
So are you going to get to go to Shanghai, if
everything goes well?
Speaker 2 (11:34):
I think so.
I think we're going to show upduring those medal ceremonies in
a strong way, and so I think wewill have a good chunk of Team
Canada will be from Saskatchewan.
Speaker 1 (11:46):
Yeah, that makes me happy.
I'm trying to get there somehow.
Speaker 2 (11:49):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (11:50):
Dear CWB, I need funding.
Speaker 2 (11:54):
I think you'll do it.
It'll be great.
I might be all right.
I might be all right.
Speaker 1 (11:59):
Now, in terms of organizing right, you came in
fresh a little bit of tradesexperience, hopefully, like
terminologies, down some of thewords and they're like okay,
well, first we got to getthrough provincials yeah so what
was it like?
Setting that up, you know with,with, I would say at that time,
maybe only five or six monthsexperience like yeah, uh yeah,
(12:24):
yeah, small bites, not so muchyeah, there was.
Speaker 2 (12:26):
No, there was no small bites for that.
Um, somebody asked me thatyesterday.
What was it?
What was it like now thatyou're on the other side?
Uh, and honestly, max, it wascrazy it was.
Speaker 1 (12:38):
It was crazy I I were walking up to you when you were
at the line there atregistration and you looked at
me and your eyes had like nofocus, like your pupils weren't
even working.
I was like, okay, I'll comeback later.
Yeah, yeah, it was crazy.
Speaker 2 (12:51):
We were so busy, Just I.
You literally felt likechickens, running around with
their heads cut off.
Speaker 1 (12:57):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (13:07):
But I remember every time.
I would just like stop for twominutes.
I'd be like man I have justlearned so much in a short
amount of time.
Speaker 1 (13:10):
Um that my brain was exploding, well, and that's the
thing.
Like, if you can take it all in, yeah, then you've learned.
Right now, one of the thingsthat I think we've done poorly
in saskatchewan and I'm going tobe critical because I'm from
saskatchewan is that we haven'tdone great in succession, right,
like the one ed.
I go back to al gebert days.
So when ed comes, he goes,leaves nothing really for the
(13:30):
next one.
Yeah, then the next one comesand goes, doesn't really, and
that's got to stop, because yousee other provinces do much
better job, yeah, of making surethat the lessons you learn
today are learned forever, right, right, so that the planning,
yeah, can be seamless and goingforward yeah, are you, are you
working on on that sort?
Speaker 2 (13:48):
of like stability within the company, yeah, uh,
one thing that I'm uh famous foris writing everything down yeah
, I write everything down, um,even if it's like uh and and
like old school pen to paperbecause, you know it's uh, you,
I go back to my notes from, likeman, even six months ago, yeah,
and I and I look through andjust like um, the thoughts that
(14:10):
I had and I was like, oh yeah,that sparked an idea here.
Speaker 1 (14:13):
How can?
Speaker 2 (14:13):
I relate it to this Uh, but in terms of like,
building succession documents,um, we're working really hard uh
on creating uh those documents,and even by month, like we have
a.
We were fortunate with GailVent who's?
Been a longtime employee forSkills.
Speaker 1 (14:30):
Gail is amazing.
Yeah, she totally is.
Is she here?
Speaker 2 (14:33):
She is here and she left this very detailed document
.
Here's what you should be doingin the first half of this month
and in the second half of thismonth, and so we've taken that
and expanded it um to, to buildit into, because we're not in um
, I guess, starvation mode Idon't know what the right word
is right now Uh, we're movingout of that, and it feels nice,
(14:55):
and so what does stability looklike for us?
And and we received a lot ofreally good feedback from our
provincial competition.
Speaker 1 (15:02):
What are the wins?
What are the things we got toget better at?
Speaker 2 (15:04):
Yeah, and so, and despite you know, our
competition is at the end ofMarch, and then we have a
massive snowstorm.
Speaker 1 (15:11):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (15:11):
Right, which which we can't help unless we move the
competition.
Speaker 1 (15:14):
That was wild.
It was but so much snow.
Speaker 2 (15:18):
Yeah, we had 300 competitors and I think that we
had three cancel.
So, you know that speaks to thecommitment and the dedication
of the people of Saskatchewan.
You know they're they're comingto to to spend time, showcase
their skills the work thatthey've put in right.
They don't want to miss out onthat.
Um and so, just taking thatfeedback in real time, in a
(15:39):
healthy way, and and I'm veryopen to receiving that feedback
anytime people want to give itto me, and I'm very open to
receiving that feedback anytimepeople want to give it to me,
because we can't get better ifwe don't do that right yeah, and
from the competitor'sstandpoint, the event ran it ran
.
Speaker 1 (15:52):
It started to finish, metals came out Totally.
It's not like it was stalled inany way, right?
No?
Speaker 2 (15:59):
And the nice thing is that, while all of this is
happening and as a as a, as acompetitor or a NTC or or even
us, right, you see, things,they're moving, they're flowing
we don't hear about all thecrazy that's happening behind
the scenes but that's happening,it's still happening.
It's happening, Uh, and so Ithink one thing that, uh, Kari,
the other person in our, in ouroffice who's great she, her and
(16:22):
I are working together reallywell to be able to deal with
those things in real time andmove past them.
Yeah Right, and so, while itlooked, it looked great from the
outside, but on the inside itwas like holy smokes.
Speaker 1 (16:36):
Yeah, this is happening.
Speaker 2 (16:37):
This is happening, this is happening, yeah, and
then now I've got to go overhere and meet with these folks,
and I have to do this over herewith these folks and yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 (16:48):
So this over here with these folks and yeah, yeah,
so it's like it was, like theship was.
Did I just unveil some ptsdthere as you hide under the
table?
Speaker 2 (16:53):
yeah, yeah, it did.
It did feel a little bit likethat.
But come medal ceremony and youand you watch these, uh, you
watch the kids get their.
You know their names announcedand they're like it was unreal,
it's something I've neverexperienced before, and it was
very cool to be the personcalling their names.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, it was reallycool, but you know they're,
(17:15):
they're.
Speaker 1 (17:16):
It's very emotional for them yeah, plus, they've
been on this nerve nervous highfor hours, like since seven in
the morning.
They've been running on justadrenaline and, yeah, probably
monster drinks, because they'reteenagers now, but you know what
I mean.
Like yeah then, then, at thatmoment it's like a complete
(17:36):
release, right?
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (17:38):
I did it.
Speaker 1 (17:39):
I was successful, yeah, and then there's no rest
for the wicked yeah, yeah, rightback into training, right back
into training.
So then how's that process workwhen you know you're the host
province, you know like now,you're like, okay, gold medal
winners, now this is the plan.
Speaker 2 (17:55):
Yeah, national is very Skills Canada.
They're very timeline focused,which is great.
These are their strongdeadlines.
This is what we need all thisstuff in for, and so then we
just collect all the informationand get all that in, and so,
while the competitors don't feelthe weight of that timeline
(18:16):
that's impending, they get theirstuff in as best as they can.
Speaker 1 (18:19):
I'm sure they feel it in other ways, yeah.
Speaker 2 (18:22):
But it is.
It really.
It's information gathering.
That's what we do after ourprovincials are done.
And then we, we order T-shirtsand we order swag and set up bus
transportation and like how'severybody getting here?
There's a lot of logisticalstuff, and then how do the hotel
rooms work?
And then can I room with thisperson and I'm going to stay
with my mom and I'm going towrite.
(18:43):
It's a lot of like sorting thatstuff out.
I'm going to stay with my momand I'm going to right, it's a
lot of like sorting that stuffout, Um, but otherwise, yeah,
the kids are excited to be here,the kids, the young adults, I
suppose as well, because thereare.
We have adults on our team aswell.
Speaker 1 (18:54):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (18:55):
Uh, everybody's just excited to be able to get here,
uh, and so we, we sit down as ateam and do like a virtual
meeting, and here's all thethings that you can expect yeah,
be ready, this is what your dayis going to look like.
Here's your bus schedule.
Um, we send them out in a fulluh information package, um, and
then, then you know, half ofthem don't read it, but that's
(19:15):
okay yeah so in in regina, sincewe're host yeah do the
competitors get to stay in, likethe, the hotels, or are they
all?
Speaker 1 (19:25):
because I know generally for nationals and then
for worlds, competitors don'tmix with the public, right?
You want to keep them all inone room okay, we're like close
right right so did we do thathere?
Or like if you're from regina,you get to go home every night?
Speaker 2 (19:38):
yeah, we there.
There are a few folks fromregina who are staying in a
hotel um but there were lotsthat were like I'm just gonna
stay at home yeah yeah, I don'twant to deal with the hotel and
all that sort of stuff, which isfair, um, so we gave them the
opportunity yeah because nextyear, when we're in toronto,
everybody will just be in thehotel together so yeah, now for
yourself, coming into this witha limited skills background, how
(20:01):
was that learning curve?
Speaker 1 (20:02):
how did you get caught up with the, with the
expectations of knowing a littlebit about every trade?
Speaker 2 (20:09):
yeah, uh, well, I did a lot of reading, um, and then
just spending time havingconversations, uh, with our ptc
and, um, yeah, remembering theskill associated with skill
number, and I still don't haveit quite down.
There's a few that that thatget me every time Then.
Speaker 1 (20:29):
I'm like wait, what is that?
One again.
And it's usually like 39.
Speaker 2 (20:35):
And I can now see I can't remember what 39 is right
now it's 39.
Speaker 1 (20:39):
That's like a sprinkler fitting, isn't it?
Speaker 2 (20:40):
No sprinkler fittings Fitting's 55.
Speaker 1 (20:42):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (20:43):
Yeah, and I would if I didn't know that the UA might
get very mad at me, but I doknow it.
39 is like architectural designmaybe.
Speaker 1 (20:56):
You're absolutely wrong.
I don't know.
I know welding.
I don't know.
Don't hold it against me.
Skill 39.
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (21:03):
I did a lot of reading right.
Speaker 1 (21:05):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (21:05):
As I one of my, in this role that I'm in, one of my
, my biggest fears is, uh,looking stupid and I don't like
to do, I don't like to feel thatway or feeling stupid, so, uh,
so I do love reading, yeah butat least not enough to be
dangerous.
Speaker 1 (21:19):
I'll watch.
Speaker 2 (21:20):
I'll watch some videos, try, you know figure it
out what's, yeah, exactly theinternet is a is a vast place of
mostly wonderful information Igive it 50, 50 but, but there's
good stuff in there yeah, do myresearch right yeah, when we
talk about skills, there'salways the concept of the
essential skills skills forchange is a part of the
(21:41):
essential skills network.
Speaker 1 (21:43):
What skills have you been taught working for skills?
Speaker 2 (21:48):
oh, that's a really good question, max.
I think integrity is is one ofthe biggest ones for me.
Um is making sure that I amintentionally.
Am I doing this for me?
Am I doing this for my partners?
Intentionally?
Am I doing this for me?
Am I doing this for my partners?
Like, who am I doing this for?
(22:09):
And at the end of the day, itall has to come back to the
competitors.
You know, the reason that we'rehere is for the kids, right,
and ensuring that we, that thefocus is on that, and is it?
Is it the best for them?
Yeah, right, I mean, I, I stillhave to work with my
organization and make sure that,um, we're doing what's best for
(22:32):
the organization, but theintention is for the kids.
Speaker 1 (22:36):
For the kids?
Yeah, yeah, and is thatsomething that you know you want
to model now, like in terms ofyour leadership?
Speaker 2 (22:44):
I think so yeah um, I I think you know being as
honest as possible about mostthings and and and.
When I think about integrity,it's not just you know
approaching everything right,not just doing the right thing,
but it's like um beingaccountable, yeah, making sure
(23:07):
that we follow through and we wedo what we say you're gonna do,
and so if I'm building arelationship with you and you
ask me for this thing, and evenif it is as simple as um
remembering to send you an emailback, yeah like, like, that's
it right?
uh, or is it making connectionswith people to um?
You know, I'm gonna gonnaconnect you with a, a school in
(23:28):
northern saskatchewan.
That would be a really good fitfor you.
Speaker 1 (23:31):
Yeah, right.
Speaker 2 (23:31):
Like that.
Those are the things that areimportant and so, making sure
that that I'm yeah, I'm going todo what I said I'm going to do
at the end of the day.
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (23:41):
What about the outreach into the more rural
communities?
That's always been an issue inSaskatchewan, because we are a
big province, big province.
With a small population rightso how do you get that reach
into areas that A probably don'thave the programs and then B
may not even know about skillsat all?
Speaker 2 (23:58):
Right, I think it's being intentional about it right
.
And so my focus coming in wasto sort of you know right that
ship, so to speak, and gain thatstability, and then with that
(24:22):
it allows me to step forwardabout skills and that they have
an opportunity to maybe whetherwe do a trade and deck day or
even just be able to do someschool programming.
And what does that?
Speaker 1 (24:33):
programming look like Be involved somehow.
Yeah right.
Speaker 2 (24:35):
And so is that programming, you know,
accommodating.
Maybe some of the programs thatthey're doing up north and then
also with rural, is beingintentional about that.
So one thing that skills doesis we do trade and tech days
throughout um, throughout theyear, usually try to do like
five or six um and and lots oftimes we uh, we've gone to to
(24:57):
larger schools because we getthat um, we get the numbers yeah
, it's an easy kpi yeah yeah,right, we, we have the numbers
that we need to meet each year.
Speaker 1 (25:08):
And how do we?
Speaker 2 (25:09):
do that, but you know , being able then to talk to our
funders and say right, we maynot have reached 10,000 kids,
but I reached 5,000 in a reallygood way, and that's over 15
schools as opposed to eight.
Speaker 1 (25:20):
Exactly Right.
Speaker 2 (25:22):
And so you know, making sure that I'm intentional
and when I'm doing my trade andtech days, I'm going to Yorkton
, saskatchewan.
I'm going to, you know, likethe Four Corners basically.
Speaker 1 (25:30):
Yeah, the Swift Currents and the Yorktons, yeah,
exactly.
Making sure that I'm not justyou know, going to PA and
calling that north.
Look at the map.
You're not even halfway there.
Yeah, I know.
Yeah, exactly, so yeah.
Speaker 2 (25:44):
I think being very intentional about it.
Speaker 1 (25:46):
Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (25:47):
And so we're in the middle of building a new
strategic plan, and that will bepart of it.
Speaker 1 (25:52):
Well, I know that we've supported lots of camps.
Speaker 2 (25:54):
We're in partnerships with you guys.
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (25:56):
And that's also one of our focuses coming up is you
know how do we get into theNorth?
Yeah, and trying to figure thatout because it's you know, I
think the technology is startingto make it a little bit easier.
Like you know, the thoughts arelike do we send a bunch of
simulators up north and havelike a week of welding via?
Simulator yeah for sure, and Ithink the ideas are there and
it's just a matter of gettingthe right partners lined up
(26:17):
right, yeah and funding.
Speaker 2 (26:19):
Yeah funding yeah.
Speaker 1 (26:21):
I find that we can get money, that's true, right.
I find that we can get money.
That's true, right, like if yougot a good plan and you're
authentic about it and maybejust I'm real stubborn, but when
I want to get something off theground, there's a way, there's
a way, you know.
Speaker 2 (26:36):
Yeah, I do feel that about you, max, yeah.
Speaker 1 (26:41):
And even the idea, like I brought this to the CWB,
is that before it was all justchasing the three biggest
welding companies for money andand if they said no, wow, that's
it, go home and hang your head,you failed.
And for me it was like no, I'mgonna chase the next layer of
industry and if they say no,then I'm going after the next
layer of industry and I don'tcare if I end up at uncle bob's
welding, you know, and they flipme 50 bucks right, it'll help.
Speaker 2 (27:02):
It'll help, right.
You know those mom and popwelding shops oh, that really
went.
Uh, they, uh, they have,they're established in that
community and they have thoserelationships and and they need
stuff too bob's welding, knowsjack's welding and knows steve's
welding, right like.
Speaker 1 (27:18):
All of those connections are there and then
boom, you're in jack or sittingover coffee complaining that
they can't find any good welders.
Speaker 2 (27:23):
exactly, exactly and so that's how those connections
are made, and that's what Ireally love about this role is
being able to, to to make thoseconnections.
Speaker 1 (27:31):
Are you a part of rural Saskatchewan?
In any way, I grew up in ruralSaskatchewan.
Yeah, okay, we're about.
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (27:37):
I grew up in a little town called Rama Rama.
Speaker 1 (27:39):
Where's Rama Dama dama ding dong?
What's that song?
Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (27:46):
And then I always say you know your grandma's from
Rama.
Speaker 1 (27:49):
Everybody knows your grandma from Rama yeah.
Speaker 2 (27:51):
It's about two and a half hours east of Saskatoon on
Highway 5.
Speaker 1 (27:54):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (27:54):
Yeah, so it's right in between Kenora and Wadena.
Speaker 1 (27:57):
Oh perfect, I know where that is, yeah.
Speaker 2 (27:59):
And so I grew up on a farm and my dad did his own.
You know cowboy welding on thefarm whenever he needed to.
Speaker 1 (28:06):
Yeah, 60-13,.
Slam it in, let's go.
Speaker 2 (28:09):
Yeah, yeah, totally.
He'll be so proud when I tellhim that, yeah, so rural
Saskatchewan is in my budget.
Speaker 1 (28:17):
So you understand those dynamics.
Now, what about the cities?
Because I hate to say it, butRegina and Saskatoon, we've
basically decimated our tradesprograms in high schools.
They're a 10th of what theywere 15 years ago.
Most of the high schools don'thave any major trades or
(28:37):
construction programs anymore.
How do you pitch skills to aschool that doesn't even have
access to it anymore?
Speaker 2 (28:43):
I know, yeah, that is hard and it's definitely
something that's that's been achallenge, um, and for them it
is.
It is a funding related rightbecause, you know the way that
the the teachers are workingthese days yeah, they're not
going to make a program out ofthe air.
No, they're not um, but if they, I find that if they can, they
will right they're, they'rethose.
Speaker 1 (29:05):
They have the passion if it's in their blood.
Speaker 2 (29:07):
They're going to do it and I think slowly the push
is coming for that fundingbecause of the gap in services.
That's coming very soon, right.
Speaker 1 (29:18):
Not very soon happening right now.
Speaker 2 (29:20):
Right.
Yes, of course you're right.
Speaker 1 (29:22):
Yeah, because I was just at a meeting in Toronto at
the CAF conference and they weretalking, talking about one of
the statistics they brought upwas we've been talking about
this impending shortcoming ofworkers.
We're past impending.
Speaker 2 (29:35):
Right, we need to change the vocabulary on that
for sure.
Speaker 1 (29:38):
Because from 2025 to 2024, retirees across Canada
doubled.
So it's already starting RightLike the big drop off that we've
all been like Ooh, the big dropoff's coming, it's here, it's
here, yeah, so like we've beentrying to figure out how to
solve this, well get on yourhorse, buddy, it's, it's right
now.
Speaker 2 (29:56):
Uh, yeah, so I, I, you know I don't want to call
anybody out, but I'm going tobecause it's your role when
you're in government.
It was the deputy minister ofeducation and one of the
(30:17):
teachers in the crowd said thefirst thing that always gets cut
is PAA funding, and I'm noteven a teacher and I know that.
Speaker 1 (30:24):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (30:25):
But he wasn't aware of that and I was like it's
pretty obvious, bro, yeah.
And so I was.
It's a shocking yeah that hedidn't know that um, and so I
was like okay, so where, where?
Speaker 1 (30:39):
do we go from here right?
Speaker 2 (30:41):
uh, and and in the room with simsa.
What they're trying to do islike build the, the support for
the education system from thepeople who have the money right
now, and that's industry.
Yeah, right, and I think it's asmart model bringing that in to
be able to.
Speaker 1 (30:59):
We need to hire you At least reinforce what we have,
yeah, yeah exactly.
Speaker 2 (31:03):
And I mean, you know the folks with the money,
they're going to sway thegovernment and so, yeah, it's a
smart model.
But in terms of of the schoolsit's, you know, it's talking to
the principals and getting themto buy in and even if they don't
have the programs, um, you know, maybe it's bringing kids to.
So I think in Saskatoon there'sthree or four core schools that
(31:23):
have good um constructionprograms.
So whether it's weldingautomotive, uh an HCAP uh class.
Um, you know bringing the kidsin for that and and and uh, you
know advocating for that from askills with the weight of skills
behind it yeah, yeah, I know insaskatchewan they went with us,
or in regina they went with a,a core, a core school, like a
(31:45):
hub school they called it rightthey canceled all the trades
programs and just made oneschool like the trade school,
and I just don't see how that'sbetter than having the trades
program be right down thehallway you gotta get on a bus
once a week to take and that'snot attractive to anybody like
no one
Speaker 1 (32:02):
no, and I don't know why you would expect kids to be
on board for that.
And on the back end I hear well, we don't have enough trades
people, we don't have enoughtrades people.
Well, we we.
We need them to have themsomewhere for them to train.
Right, the colleges, I think,are established yeah but you
know we need.
Speaker 2 (32:20):
Their numbers are down, but their numbers are way
down.
Speaker 1 (32:22):
And then, if you look at the international student
factor, it's even more yeah andso then they lose all the
funding yeah, yeah, it's a toughpickle, it's a cluster it's a
cluster cluster, doodle acluster Cluster doodle, a
cluster doodle, and we don'twant to get into too much of
politics and the cluster doodlesof politics.
Speaker 2 (32:40):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 (32:41):
But the reality is is that we need to find ways for
young people or people lookingto transition into the trades,
start the trades, stay in thetrades Right and fill those
roles right from the bottom tothe top, including management
and the only way you're going todo that is by events like this
organizations like yours yeahwhere you're gonna.
(33:04):
You're trying your best to makeit sexy, make glamorize it yeah
, make it fun.
And I mean and give theinformation out of the options
available.
I mean, I brought my parentshere today.
My dad's been in the trades hiswhole life.
My mom used to work inmanufacturing and they walked
through the floor and they'relike, is this all a competition?
I'm like, yeah, all of it.
And they're like all yeah, yeah, they have no idea, right it's
(33:29):
like, and I mean I don't thinkpeople, the general population
knows about this.
Speaker 2 (33:34):
Yeah, but I think that the trades are very cool in
the way that you could startout as an electrician or a
welder or working on a heavyvehicle, and you start out as a
technician, you start out as,like an apprentice and you work
your way up and then the doorsthat that opens, right, I mean,
(33:56):
look at yourself right.
And now you're you're a famouspodcaster.
Speaker 1 (34:01):
Thank you to all 14 of my listeners.
I very much appreciate you, youknow.
Speaker 2 (34:07):
I think that it's.
It's incredible that the doorsthat it opens the opportunities
that are available to you.
You know I think of of thefolks, the opportunities that
are available to you.
You know I think of of thefolks, the partners that we work
with, and they're like.
You know what?
When I was 18, I got into thistrade and look at me now I'm the
director of training of the UA.
You know what I mean.
Like it's, it's even openopportunities that are adjacent.
Speaker 1 (34:27):
That you don't realize, like, for example,
example for me, once I got myred seals and I started, you
know, making some good moneyyeah I was able to go to back to
school yeah, and take nightclasses because I could afford
it and it wasn't a big stressanymore.
And I'm not trying to take fiveclasses a semester and hammer
out some magical thing, right.
Speaker 2 (34:43):
I was just like, oh, this class looks super
interesting this semester, yeah,and so I would take a class a
class.
Speaker 1 (34:50):
While you do that every semester, in seven years
you have a second degree.
Yeah, like you, it just and atno real expense.
Right, because the trades giveyou that luxury.
Speaker 2 (35:02):
The time and the money right.
I was having a conversationwith someone this morning about
like how do we make tradesinteresting to young people, um,
so that they go directly them.
And you know, there's thatconversation about like I'm a
Gen Z, I'll never be able toafford a house.
Go into a trade house in fiveyears.
Problem solved.
Speaker 1 (35:22):
What you talking about and I was like that's how
we sell it.
Speaker 2 (35:24):
That's how we should sell it to the young people
House in five years.
I'm going to steal that.
Speaker 1 (35:28):
We're going to do it.
We're going to make memes,memes all week yeah, I love it.
I was like that's so smart yeahawesome well two questions to
wrap it up okay, two questionsto wrap it up.
So for yourself with skills,yeah, what?
What are you hoping you knowyour group does here?
How many world competitors arewe going to get out?
Speaker 2 (35:44):
of here.
What do we?
Speaker 1 (35:45):
because you got what?
What do you say?
52 competitors?
Yeah and I know I got my.
I got my bets down on a fewyeah and we do represent very
well generally.
Speaker 2 (35:55):
Yeah, we do, but we got a couple of recurrings, yeah
Right.
Speaker 1 (35:58):
So who do you think's in it for a world?
Speaker 2 (36:00):
Oh, you want me to name names.
Speaker 1 (36:01):
Or even just trades.
Speaker 2 (36:02):
Okay, I think our welders are going to do well, I
think.
Speaker 1 (36:10):
We've gone to worlds a number of times in
Saskatchewan.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (36:14):
Uh, I think Mechanical CAD is going to do
really well.
Speaker 1 (36:16):
Good, I think Graphic Design is going to do really
well.
Graphic Design we've gone toWorlds a few times yeah.
Speaker 2 (36:22):
Um, oh, I think.
Hmm, I'm just trying to put thespaces in in where they're
located.
Uh, I think that we're going tomedal in a fair number of
competitions.
I don't know that we'll go toWorlds in all of them, but I
(36:43):
think I want to say five.
Speaker 1 (36:44):
I'm going to say five that would be fantastic.
I'm with you.
I'm with you there, yeah.
Speaker 2 (36:49):
I think we got three in the bag for sure, good, good.
Speaker 1 (36:55):
Hopefully the judges hear that too.
I'll make my pro-line betstonight.
Speaker 2 (36:58):
Well, can you imagine if you could pro-line bet on a?
Speaker 1 (37:01):
I don't see why not.
That would be wild.
Speaker 2 (37:03):
There you go.
Maybe that's your next endeavor.
I feel like that's highlyimmoral, but that's fine.
Speaker 1 (37:07):
Sorry Killing me with laughter here.
Last question Okay sorrykilling me with the laughter
here.
Last question okay, so if you,because this is a short, quick,
fast route you're on right nowyeah if you have a young
competitor in front of yougetting disheartened, things are
rough.
How are you going to inspirethem to crush it going?
Speaker 2 (37:29):
sure you know, I I like, I like having honest.
I I'm not a small talker.
I do not like it.
It's not something I enjoy, andso I like getting deep and
heavy with people fast, and so Ithink it's an easy way to like
cut through all of the or youngpeople, let's say we have a
(37:50):
secondary competitors having ahard time um, just sitting down
and be like what is your goal?
What did you want to accomplishwhen you got here in the first
place?
Was it to attend?
Was it to just like, maybeovercome some anxiety?
Did you want to win thecompetition?
How do we get back to that goal?
And maybe it's deep breathingand maybe it's like a hard
conversation, um, but I thinkit's coming back to that, to
(38:14):
that authentic reason why youjoined in the first place.
And is it because your dad was awelder or your cousin is a
carpenter?
Is it like?
What is the reason?
And let's go back to that andfocus on why you're genuinely
here, and I think that thatauthenticity of like at the base
of it is joy of doing somethingthat you love.
Um, that comes through yeah,and it'll come through in your
(38:37):
work, it'll come through in yourskill, it'll come through, uh,
in your potential meddling yeah,yeah, I'm so pumped for
saturday morning yeah, me toolike I can't wait to see.
Speaker 1 (38:46):
I want to go check on the welders again this
afternoon.
Yeah, I was looking at all thewelds today.
I was like, oh, I don't.
I started like my judge, I'vejudged before.
So my judge's hat but then I'mlike don't do that.
Speaker 2 (38:58):
Don't do that, don't take yourself, don't be critical
yeah.
Speaker 1 (39:01):
That's hard to do.
Speaker 2 (39:02):
Yeah, I know, I know it is hard.
I know it is hard, yeahappreciate it.
Speaker 1 (39:12):
Yeah, it was great, awesome and for all the people
that have been following, alongwith the podcast, make sure you
check out the entire skillsseries for 2025 here in Regina,
saskatchewan, and also all ourpodcasts.
Keep downloading, sharing andcommenting.
We appreciate it and love you.
Thanks, catch you the nextepisode.
We hope you enjoy the show.
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