July 28, 2025 • 33 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!
Executive Director, Brandon Villeneuve, pulls back the curtain on the extraordinary logistics required to build trades education in Canada's Arctic. With communities connected only by air, prohibitively expensive travel costs, and weather that can ground flights without warning, simply getting competitors to events becomes a monumental achievement. Yet the challenges don't end there – finding local industry mentors, securing sponsorships in a region without major corporate presence, and creating training facilities that compare to southern resources all require creative solutions. Despite these obstacles, which make Skills Canada Nunavut's mission both challenging and profoundly impactful, Nunavut's trades landscape holds tremendous opportunity.
Website: https://www.skillsnunavut.ca/
Follow Skills/Compétences Canada:
Website: https://www.skillscompetencescanada.com/en/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/SkillsCanadaOfficial
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/skillscompetencescanada/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/skills_canada
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/skillscanada
There is no better time to be a member! The CWB Association membership is new, improved, and focused on you. We offer a FREE membership with a full suite of benefits to build your career, stay informed, and support the Canadian welding industry. https://www.cwbgroup.org/association/become-a-member
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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.
(00:24):
Hello and welcome to anotheredition of the CWB Association
podcast.
This week we have the honor ofbeing here in Regina,
saskatchewan, for SkillsNational Competitions.
As a part of our programmingwith Skills this year, we are
interviewing all the executivedirectors of all the provinces
and territories across thecountry.
Right now we have BrandonVilleneuve, who is the executive
(00:46):
director for the Nunavut group.
How's it going, brandon?
It's going great.
I'm having a great time.
How are you liking regina sofar you ever been here before?
Speaker 2 (00:52):
no, this is my first time in regina.
Um, it's been beautiful.
I I like in terms oflandscaping.
The city is miraculously wellkept and that's been really cool
to see yeah, I think it's a.
Speaker 1 (01:04):
It's something that people don't expect when they
come to regina how green it is,how much parks and trees and
water, and a few of our kidsthat we brought down have never
been down south before.
Speaker 2 (01:14):
Yeah, so some of them are are seeing trees for the
first time so that's been reallyneat and they've been really
enjoying that.
Speaker 1 (01:20):
That's good.
That's good.
So let's start with your team.
How many people came down?
What are you representing?
Speaker 2 (01:25):
so there's about about 36 of us who came down.
Um, we have a handful of kidswho are part of the soaring
skills program oh, awesome, yeah, um.
So we get to bring them andthey're not competing, but they
get to check out the competitionand and see what it's about.
Um, they trend a little younger.
I think all of our kids are ingrade nine.
Speaker 1 (01:45):
Okay, that's a great age to do this, though.
Speaker 2 (01:48):
Yeah, they're all very excited.
They're having a blast.
They have gone back to theirhotel, they're wiped.
Speaker 1 (01:54):
It's hard to wipe a 15-year-old.
Let me tell you.
Speaker 2 (01:57):
Oh my God, yeah.
And then we have a number ofchaperones.
We have kids participating incooking, baking, small engine.
Speaker 1 (02:06):
How many trades are you got competitions?
Speaker 2 (02:08):
for I believe we have 13 participants in 11 or 12
trades, some of them are two.
Yeah, double trade?
Speaker 1 (02:17):
Yeah, and you know as you prepare them for this
journey.
You know, like you said, somany people from the Northern
Territories have never left,have never been on a plane, have
never traveled without theirparents or family.
How do you prepare everyone forthis, like, I mean, at least
you're not dropping them intoToronto or something real scary
but that's next year.
(02:37):
That's next year right, but atleast for this, you know how do
you prepare them for this typeof trip.
Speaker 2 (02:45):
We prepare them for this type of trip?
Um, we prepare them by beinghonest.
We we let them know what toexpect.
Um, we tell you know you'regoing to get to, there's going
to be a lot of people we are.
So our territorial competitionbefore this is in a high school
gymnasium.
So going from that to this isis a wild shock.
I'm assuming to most of themyeah, um, so we, we let them
(03:06):
know.
You know it's going to be a bigthing.
There's going to be a lot ofpeople there like just do the
best you can learn from theexperience, have fun with it and
yeah, just enjoy yourself.
Speaker 1 (03:17):
Yeah, good, yeah.
Now, in terms of the peoplethat you have supporting them.
You said you got 13 competitorsand you said 36 in total, so
that that gives me 20, no, but30, no, 20.
I'm really bad at math rightnow.
23 support people, so is thatfamily?
Speaker 2 (03:32):
oh, no, sorry 36, uh 13 or competitors 10 or soaring
skills students okay, okay so,uh, you got 13 other supporters
then yeah, so three are thechaperones for soaring skills.
We've got a number ofchaperones and coaches with us.
We have have our staff which isfour of us, and then we have
coaches to support thecompetitors.
Speaker 1 (03:52):
Now, have you been to Provincial Skills?
How long have you been with theSkills family?
Speaker 2 (03:57):
So I was on the board , originally in Nunavut, I felt
that it was a board that'd befun to be on and a good cause to
get into Um.
And then our executive directorposition was opening up this
year and I said, no, that'ssomething I feel like you're
good at.
And I got lucky and got intothe position I'm in.
So I've been in this positionfor only about two months now.
(04:19):
Oh wow.
Speaker 1 (04:20):
Yeah Well, you hit the ground on fire.
Speaker 2 (04:22):
There you go, I hit the ground just as Territorials
were starting.
I was very lucky in theexecutive director before me had
been there a long time and itwas pretty set up yeah.
They had a pretty well-oiledmachine already going, so I'm
very lucky in the position I'min.
Speaker 1 (04:39):
How long has Nunavut have had a skills team?
Like, have they been aroundsince 98, kind of, when everyone
joined up, or uh, none of itdidn't exist in that's right.
So like, uh, what?
Speaker 2 (04:50):
did they come into it ?
I think our incorporationdocuments 2005, so I'm assuming
we had shortly after programsand I know we've had teams for
at least a decade.
I know there was a covid kindof messing stuff up and we
weren't able to go around.
It's really hard to do thingsin the North because there's you
can't drive, it's veryexpensive, everything has to fly
(05:11):
.
Speaker 1 (05:11):
That's right and everything's far from each other
.
Speaker 2 (05:13):
So to bring people in from other communities we have
to fly them in from all over theplace.
Wow, and during COVID that wasjust not a thing.
Speaker 1 (05:19):
Well, and the price of that?
Even at the best of times it's,it's pricey you live in a
pricey world I I have a friendof mine who does nursing up in
in of it.
Every year he goes up on a tourand he always sends down those
pictures that scare everybody,you know, like the 26 pepsis and
the yeah, everybody goes totake pictures of the orange
juice price now, but you guysgotta live in that yeah, so,
(05:40):
like when you're talking aboutsupporting the kids in trades,
you gotta've got to factor inthat's a major barrier or hurdle
that you need to manage through, because the consumables and
the equipment and the thingsthey need to train are more
expensive.
Speaker 2 (05:58):
There's a couple of things we really have to factor
in that changes in the north.
One is definitely cost yeah,especially with airlines, and
having to transport back andforth from other communities
because we're centralized in acall it, but we want to include
as many of the communities wecan, for sure, and it's not that
big right.
Yeah, a call it's about 9 000.
The territory itself, I think,is about 35 yeah but we want to
(06:21):
include as many kids and givethem the opportunity from all
over the territory and thatbecomes really pricey no, um,
and then also, along with uh,materials and things are more
expensive up there, but a bigone is just finding support as
well right um because there's Imean there's a ton of different
trades and technologies andservice skills that people
compete here that we can'treally take part in, cause we
(06:44):
just don't have people up Northwho are doing those?
trades and skills.
Um, we're, we're at uh, we're avictim to what we can find.
We, we're, we have a passionategroup and we're, we're reaching
out to more to try and get morepartners.
But there's some things we justthere's no business for up
north.
Speaker 1 (07:02):
There's no.
It's one of the questions I'vehad with all the executive
directors, and it's howimportant partners and sponsors
are in order to be able tosupport your team.
Now, the more remote you get,the further you get away from
main centers, the less companiesyou have, the less availability
to sponsors and supporters.
(07:24):
How do you because a big partof your job is to find them how
do you find or how do you workwith that system?
Speaker 2 (07:30):
it's it's just a matter of going out and, uh,
putting your boots on the groundand knocking on doors just
communicating with everybody and, uh, shareholders and stuff
locally, um, we don't have the,the major corporations that are
down here.
A lot of them are just notpresent up north.
So it's and part of it.
It's not all a negative, someof it is a positive.
(07:51):
It's a smaller community.
You get to support more localcommunity partners, so we get to
support local communitypartners, but we also know each
other a lot more.
There is a small town mentality, like I know the people who run
the hotels locally I know, yeah, we know a lot of the teachers.
We know a lot of people whojust like if we need something,
we know, hey, we can reach outto this company specifically and
(08:11):
yeah, it's, there's a lot ofhelp and stuff like that.
Speaker 1 (08:15):
Well, let's go back to you.
Let's get your origin story allright.
So you were on the board, butnow you're the ed.
But what pulled you into thisworld of skills at all?
How did it get on?
Speaker 2 (08:26):
your radar.
So I'm from sudbury, ontariooriginally.
Okay, the big nickel.
Yeah, um, I went up north andand just loved it.
Yeah, that was about eightyears ago.
Speaker 1 (08:38):
I was in banking for a long time um, like the working
for the banks or robbing.
Speaker 2 (08:43):
I was uh, legally I can't discuss um no, I was
working for a major bank, for awhile and I.
I wanted to do something more,uh, to contribute to the
community, so I left banking andjoined the government.
For a while, uh, the governmentin, and and I was working in a
position where I could help.
So were you banking in?
Yeah, okay, okay, I see, yeah,um, so I went with the
government who I was in aposition where I could help.
Speaker 1 (09:03):
So were you banking in Nunavut?
Yeah, okay, okay, I see yeah.
Speaker 2 (09:05):
So I went with the government who was in a position
to provide grants andcontributions to nonprofits.
So that felt like kind of amiddle ground where I wasn't
directly helping but I wassupporting in some way Corporate
, but still community.
Yeah, so it was kind of amiddle ground and I was happier
in that and and then, uh, I goton the board here and saw how
(09:28):
passionate these kids were andhow passionate like people were
locally, because I I myselfpersonally have no trades
experience, nor in your family.
No, I have, I have uh, an unclewho changes tires and stuff and
my grandfather was anelectrician so my family has a
little bit yeah I've done a fewthings with them when I was
young cool, um, but I saw allthe passion and the kids and the
community and how much thatskills benefits them and their
(09:50):
future and just building upthere and I said, you know, I
want to be a part of that.
I joined the board and it'sbeen fantastic.
Then this position opened up.
I said, you know, this is kindof what I've always dreamed of
is doing something more thatthat really directly community,
yeah, Something that it can seea real tangible impact locally.
And uh, it's worked out reallywell.
Speaker 1 (10:10):
And in that learning curve, for you to come into this
and basically needing to know alittle bit about all the trades
, being involved with everythingand trying to make those
connections when you don'treally have the background.
What was that curve like?
Speaker 2 (10:26):
Uh, it was exciting.
I'm, I'm somebody I love toread up on stuff and I love to
learn and I've learned a lot inthe last 60 days or so.
Um, I've I've trusted, uh, inthe people we work with.
I've learned a lot from them.
Um, and I'm going to keeplearning.
Like there's going to be somestuff I'll try that's new and
even just wandering around hereI'm like that'd be fun to do.
(10:48):
It's.
It's a steep learning curve atsome points but, it's, it's been
so.
I've been happier in the last 60days doing this work that I
have in any job I've ever had,and it's been so rewarding.
Speaker 1 (11:00):
Well, have they?
Have they given you the mafiaspeech yet?
No, not yet.
Speaker 2 (11:04):
Yeah, because once you're in skills oh yes, no,
somebody mentioned that to mepretty early yeah, when I get no
, I came last year to nationals,yeah, and I was on the conflict
resolution committee and theysaid, uh, you know, once you do
this, once you're doing thisforever.
Yeah, and I said, oh, okay.
And then this year they're likewe told you.
Well, we see your position now.
(11:26):
We discussed this.
Speaker 1 (11:27):
Yeah, there's no way getting out of it.
And I mean, I'm in the sameboat.
I started off as a mentor,helping with scales, supporting
as a welder welding instructor,and then eventually just got
more and more involved with it.
One of the first things I didwhen I became an ed for the
(11:49):
canadian welding bureau is wegotta tag out the skills
professionally.
It makes sense.
We're in a private association,well-funded one, where we can
support and do a lot of good.
But number two, personally Ihave an attachment to it.
Right, I feel, like you said,this is an organization that
does very like a to bconnections, where we're helping
young kids and they succeed andI'm not talking medals, we're
talking just success and thenfrom there they go off to have
(12:11):
amazing careers and it's, itworks every time I'm really
looking forward to that aspectof working with skills is just
seeing these kids go from uh,competing here and like working
with us, working with ourmentors, to seeing them go on to
competing here and like workingwith us, working with our
mentors to seeing them go on tobe apprentices and getting jobs
in this, these areas, yeah.
(12:32):
And I think that's something I'mlooking forward to the most in
throughout my time.
Well, and what's going tohappen and this is what I heard
from a couple of the other EDsthat have been around for over
20 years is that you see thelong-term cycle of skills where
it goes like and then theybecome the next EDs, and then
they become on the board andit's like it's a life like that.
They've kind of been skills orskills adjacent.
Speaker 2 (12:47):
Yeah, uh, some of our board or skills alumni, uh, our
program coordinators, the skillskills alumni as well for new
needed for us Yep they they justsee the passion.
They want to give back as well.
Uh, in when you came into thisrole, did you have any
not-for-profit experienceoutside of the the bank?
(13:07):
Um, not a ton.
I did a lot with the governmentwhen I was dealing with
non-profits and doing uh I didtheir grants, contributions,
applications and stuff like thatyeah so working with that and
and diverting funding andworking in that aspect was
really helpful yeah um, butother than that no it's been.
Speaker 1 (13:24):
So what skills did you have to learn real quick?
What were the skills that youhad to pick up and be like, okay
, I gotta get better at this.
Speaker 2 (13:28):
I worked for the government for a while and there
was a lot like government has alot of money Going from a major
bank to the government, to asmall nonprofit.
You have to learn budgeting butstricter budgeting very quick
yeah, rubbing those penniestogether.
Oh yeah, that was you know going.
I knew that going in because Iwas on the board.
I knew what we were workingwith.
(13:49):
Yeah, so there will be a lot ofI'm a lot of uh, reaching out
and hoping we can get moresponsors in the future now, are
you the type of director thatwants to budget first and then
find the money, or do you liketo find the money?
Speaker 1 (14:03):
I my anxiety, I want to know we have something before
we're going to spend it.
Speaker 2 (14:09):
Uh spending money we don't have.
Speaker 1 (14:12):
Yeah, that's that it's not just there, no, no we,
we.
I do not want to put us in ahole of any sort so, yeah, now
what about the skills that youfeel you you're going to need to
learn?
Like, the whole aspect of thisof the setup is skills based,
essential skills, skills forsuccess, all these things.
(14:32):
So you came in with a certainset of skills you're learning,
you know better money managementskills, budgeting skills.
But when you come here and seeall the other, you know, uh, eds
and the ntcs and just thesystem in general, what are the
things that you're like?
Speaker 2 (14:46):
okay, I gotta pick up on these things um, a big thing
that I'm uh gonna be workingtowards in the future is just
working on things like uhprogramming and, um like
curriculum management in termsof like putting workshops
together or even our territorialskills competition, putting
stuff together that is, uh, justbeneficial to the kids and
(15:10):
prepares them for what to expecthere.
Speaker 1 (15:12):
Being in a community where everyone's so dispersed
into small communities, does theonline or the virtual sphere
help with recruitment or withbringing people in, like I mean,
I've heard that kind of go bothways, depending on on the
province more recently trendingthat direction a little bit.
Speaker 2 (15:32):
Um until I would say about two years ago, the
internet was horrible yeah, youguys are all starlink now.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I have one onmy house yeah uh, we have one
on the office.
Yeah, it's.
Yeah, it's just.
Without that we could notfunction.
Yeah, like it.
It's like a fortune to get 200gigabytes a month with our our
(15:52):
plans and it's still not evengood.
Yeah, I mean it's, it'sfunctional now which is good,
yeah, um, but a lot of peoplestill don't have home internet,
so right, it does help in termsof communicating the schools a
lot, but people still don't havehome internet, so it does help
in terms of communicating withthe schools a lot more.
Speaker 1 (16:04):
But you're not able to run virtual competitions yet.
Speaker 2 (16:07):
We did.
We've tried a little bit duringCOVID and last year we did a
little bit as well, because weagain going back to the travel
thing, we did territorial skillslast year and 50% of our
competitors were weathered out.
Their flights were canceled,they didn't make it, yeah.
So we had to kind of adapt tosomething remote, because we
can't, they can't drive in.
(16:28):
So if their flight cancels,hope next year?
Speaker 1 (16:32):
Wishful thinking.
What if you could acquirefunding to bring everyone down
to like an Alberta orSaskatchewan or Ontario and have
access to a college for like amonth and have everyone train on
professional equipment, withall the space and all the
consumables and all theresources they need?
Like, like.
How would you, how do yousupport your team, to get to the
(16:53):
point where they're getting thesame level of support that the
major centers get?
Speaker 2 (16:57):
It's, I mean the, the pipe dream would be getting
something like that.
Speaker 1 (17:01):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (17:04):
Um, just to get that support is just working with
partners, and something I'mdoing this week is reaching out
to NTC members who organize thecompetitions here and kind of
bringing what we do sort of upto par with what you're doing
here and just gaining moreinformation and tips on how to
prepare our competitors.
Speaker 1 (17:21):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (17:22):
And we've brought a couple this time to work with
gaining more information andtips on how to prepare our
competitors.
Yeah and um, we brought acouple this time to work with.
Uh, we brought a plumber and amechanic down to work with a
little bit of the ntc, to kindof just the procedures and the
formats yeah just to gain somemore knowledge on how to work
with kids and how to how to puta, put a competition together
that'll be, beneficial to them.
Um so, just working with theright people is like huge are
(17:45):
the sponsors and partners, andand just volunteers are just a
massive part of what we do likethe most.
You can hear people just lovingit right now yeah, but like the
, the volunteers we we have arefantastic and without them we
just can't do this yeah, likeall these not-for-profits, like
without the volunteers you don'treally have a business.
Yeah our territory skillscompetition.
(18:05):
We have a ton of volunteers andwithout them that doesn't.
That doesn't get together.
Speaker 1 (18:08):
Yeah what about the communications or interactions
between the territories?
Like, I mean, you're not reallyany closer to northwest
territories than you are tomanitobaoba per se.
Speaker 2 (18:22):
We do have a really good relationship with the NWT
and the Yukon.
My first week we talked withthe other Blake and Katie yeah.
Previous ED Janice introducedme to them online very quick.
We have calls set up Because weall to some degree deal with
the same thing.
They have been great and justreach out.
we have calls set up where causewe all to some degree kind of
(18:43):
deal with the same thing so wecan uh, they have been great and
just been, you know reach outto us if you have questions like
and they've been really helpfulin that, because we sort of
deal with the same issues andthe same logistics problems and
it's nice to have people who arein my position and it both
physically and also likelogistically.
Speaker 1 (19:02):
And that helps a lot.
Now I know that, uh, when I wastalking to blake, there was a
the dream floated of could weever, or could you ever, host a
national conference in theterritories, like how would that
happen?
Because like how do you bringthe spotlight north?
As you know, was kind of howthe conversation started and so
like thinking about that, askingyou how do we bring the
(19:24):
spotlight?
Because with the spotlightcomes money, with the spotlight
comes funders.
Absolutely right, like how dowe get the spotlight up?
Just a small community likethat, but is obviously
harnessing great talent.
Speaker 2 (19:37):
I would absolutely love if the nationals could be
held in nunavut.
Um, right it just logistically.
We well, look at this center.
We, we have nothing.
Even if you add up all of ourpublic space in the calo, it's,
we just don't have it.
No, um, hopefully someday.
Um, the only way that couldreally work is like splitting it
(19:57):
up and putting some here andsome there.
But then logistics, yeah, thenyou're back to.
Speaker 1 (20:01):
That should be even more of a nightmare.
Speaker 2 (20:03):
But day one yukon, day two northwest but it would
be so wonderful to have it upthere that would be, it'd be so
cool and it would really,because part of it is, uh,
engaging the kids and bringingthem in and coming down here is
a big thing, but, like one thingthe territorials skills
competition does for us is thatwe can really bring the
community in and let them seewhat it's like, and so having
(20:26):
nationals up there would be justso wonderful in terms of
bringing people in and be likethis is where we've been going.
This is what we've been doingand really, opening their eyes
to that.
Speaker 1 (20:35):
I know that at the CWB Association we're looking
all the time at how we cansupport the territories better.
We have camps, we have a numberof programs running in all
three territories, but they'reonly like exploratory, they're
kind of just scratching thesurface.
The conversation always comesup how can we make a more
lasting impact?
Speaker 2 (20:55):
We really I mean me personally going forward.
I want to do more to bridge thegap between uh grade nine and
apprentice and I want to do moreto uh mentor throughout the
year leading up to territorialsnationals.
Yeah, um, and work with kitjust finding out what kids are
passionate about, what they wantto do what they're interested
(21:16):
in, getting them in front ofwhatever they need to try it,
and then just putting them incontact with the right people.
That'll nurture that skill setand just building towards the
future.
So a big thing is just keepworking with these kids and and
and being present rather than,you know, prepare for a
competition or workshop and justtry and do something that is
(21:39):
more regular.
Speaker 1 (21:40):
Yeah, now is the work there for them that's a, you
know, that's a conversation Ihad with the maritimes.
Like I live in saskatchewan,out here in the west, that's
never an issue.
There's always work.
We have very low unemploymentrates.
It's we're blessed, you know,to have that ability.
But you get into the, the, Iguess, the exterior parts of the
country and it's not as solid,but I don't know the story in
(22:03):
any way.
Like what?
What is going on up there,industry wise?
What's the big hires?
Speaker 2 (22:08):
uh housing is.
We have a huge uh housingdeficit up there, so
construction yeah constructiontrades up north are always
hiring and always interested inhiring locally because with a
lot of those companies they haveto fly people in from down
south to do that that's soexpensive yeah they so it.
You know, if you're a apprenticecarpenter, like a apprentice
(22:31):
plumber or something like that,you like you'll get hired.
Yeah, there is work for trades.
Um, I know there's some stuffbuilding up in the technologies.
I think um like there's someplaces that's graphic design,
things like that so there arejobs up there for them?
Speaker 1 (22:47):
what about mining?
Is the mining?
Speaker 2 (22:48):
industry is big up there.
Um.
We have baffin land and agnigoeagle there and doing work.
There's many mines in Nunavut?
Speaker 1 (22:56):
Yeah, and I'm sure they're looking to hire.
Yeah, they're always, Just likeeveryone else millwrights,
welders, fabricators, all of itright we had one of them come to
our territorial skillcompetition and set up a booth.
Nice.
Speaker 2 (23:07):
They're always interested in trades.
We have two major airlines upnorth like Comair Canadian North
that are always looking forpeople.
There is a lot of opportunities.
It's just a matter of gettingit in front of these kids and
getting them aimed towards thoseopportunities and get the
training they require to getthere.
Speaker 1 (23:25):
Is there still a lot of thoughts or I guess trends in
the north of you need to getout of here, we need to move
somewhere else to make money.
I got to leave here or arepeople pretty happy trying to
stay there, stay in thecommunity and and, and I guess,
contribute locally?
Speaker 2 (23:40):
I I don't hear the mentality of of having to leave
to make money there's.
I've talked to people who haveto leave for education sometimes
because that might not beoffered right but uh, most
people I thought like they wantto stay there and there are
opportunities if they get theright training and the right
skills that to stay there andwork, but people, people I talk
(24:01):
to just love being there andlove the north and love their
families and and the peoplethere and and will stay there if
they can, and there's, like Isaid, a lot of opportunities
yeah, it's funny because wealways joke in saskatchewan that
you know all these transientworkers float through
saskatchewan and then we catchthem and they never leave.
Speaker 1 (24:18):
It's one of those provinces you don't hear much
about.
Everyone thinks we're flat andugly and barren.
Then you get here and realizethat it's actually really cheap
to live here and really goodmoney and it's not that bad
right now.
I've also heard the same of theterritories.
Yeah, I've had many friends goup to the territories on a
one-year contract.
They never come back.
Speaker 2 (24:37):
I went up for a vacation.
I went up to check it out for athree-week vacation and I just
fell in love with it.
Speaker 1 (24:44):
And I was like it's great here and my father texts
me about once a year.
Speaker 2 (24:47):
He's like when are you coming back?
Are you coming back?
Speaker 1 (24:50):
And last year he mess .
Speaker 2 (24:53):
He messaged me and he said I don't think you're
coming back.
Speaker 1 (24:56):
I said I don't, I don't think so Like, for why?
Like you're good, right, I loveit there.
Speaker 2 (25:01):
When you got an awesome job.
I couldn't be happier with myjob, yeah.
Speaker 1 (25:05):
Yeah, now what about the kids that are are here
competing, or the students arecompetitors.
I should say every province haslike the things that they're
especially good at historically.
Speaker 2 (25:23):
What is it that none of it's coming here to crush
that?
Do you think?
Like we got this in the bag.
You know what?
We have an exceptionally, uh,excited group of kids who are
just really passionate, ready tobe here, just to be here.
Yeah, um, yeah, I, I would sayhonestly across the board.
Speaker 1 (25:31):
We're just ready to go and ready to be here.
Speaker 2 (25:32):
Yeah, um, yeah.
I I would say honestly acrossthe board we're just ready to go
and ready to be a part of this.
Speaker 1 (25:37):
Yeah, um hopefully it gets them on the podium.
Speaker 2 (25:39):
Yeah, they've been working really hard, um, and we
just want them to do their bestand enjoy themselves, and it's
it's a big deal to be down hereoh for sure, yeah, I think.
Speaker 1 (25:50):
To the, to the, every single one of them, it's a
life-changing moment.
Speaker 2 (25:55):
Yeah, that's a big thing.
The first time I came last yearwas a really eye-opening
experience for me.
The territorials were cool,Like for Quebec.
Yeah yeah, Quebec CityTerritorials are cool and it's
beautiful to see that and bepart of the community.
Speaker 1 (26:09):
But when you come here and see the kids from up
north take part in this, it'sreally overwhelming at first
yeah, and you see theminteracting with mentor and with
the other competitors, right,and they're making friends and
they're making new acquaintancesand people from across the
country right just like walkingaround this week and seeing them
uh interact with their coachesand do their their uh, do their
(26:30):
work uh, because I've just beenspending the day kind of
wandering around and see howstudents are going yeah.
Speaker 2 (26:36):
And even I haven't really known them that long and
even I'm filled with pride LikeI can't imagine how their
parents and stuff feel.
One of them is being chaperonedby their mother and she's just
like beaming over her daughterearlier.
Speaker 1 (26:49):
I would hate to be chaperoned by my parents.
It would make me 10 times morenervous.
Speaker 2 (26:58):
I think they're having a blast, but that was
really heartwarming to seeearlier.
Speaker 1 (27:00):
She was just beaming over her daughter like doing a
great job.
What's one of the like?
I mean, we talked aboutlogistics, we talked about
funding, but when you look atthe, at the, at the psyche of
the kids, what's one of theobstacles that you got?
To make sure they're ready for,when they're getting ready to
prepare out there um a big thingis just being listening to them
yeah um, obviously you knowfirst aid jitters.
Speaker 2 (27:17):
Today we've had some, some kids struggling with some
stuff and it's just listening towhat they need, encouraging
them, because you know we're not, we're not giving them the
speech of like you need to gowin, you need to get first we
aren't just go do the best youcan and be happy with that Learn
yeah, Learn, and I said tosomebody earlier don't compare
yourself to the othercompetitors.
(27:38):
Compare yourself to who youwere yesterday.
Speaker 1 (27:41):
Right.
Speaker 2 (27:41):
If you learned something today, then you were
better than you were yesterday.
Yeah, that's awesome.
Yeah, I think that's the bestmentality to go into this with.
Speaker 1 (27:48):
Absolutely.
Now, you said you walked around.
You've walked the whole floor.
Oh yeah, no, you said youwalked around, you've been.
Have you walked the whole floor?
Oh yeah, I've done the wholefloor multiple times.
At this point, what do youthink of the venue and the setup
here?
Speaker 2 (27:58):
I love the setup.
There was something in QuebecCity where we had no.
There was nowhere to sit down,Like at all, and that was rough
so it's been nice to have thearea over there and just have a
seat for a sec.
Yeah, but it is um the otherthing about last year and well,
they did a great job and it waswonderful.
Uh, the space is wider here sothey fit a lot more in here and
(28:21):
it's.
It's great.
It looks terrific in here.
The energy is just really high.
It is everybody's having ablast.
I love seeing like the, theelementary schools and stuff
come in here.
Speaker 1 (28:31):
That's really neat.
They get so pumped they'rerunning around just like crazy.
Speaker 2 (28:34):
Yeah, one of my favorite parts of this is just
watching them interact with thetri-trade booths.
Yeah, like there was, uh, theone doing the digital welding
stuff earlier.
Speaker 1 (28:41):
That's just really cool to see it is now, as you
walked through and checked outall the shows which are your
favorite to watch, like as aspectator, not as a judge, or as
a or as an ed.
Speaker 2 (28:52):
We had this conversation right when we were
coming down here.
Yeah, um, I love watching thecooking and baking because I
like doing some cookingeveryone's top three I the, the
landscaping really blows my thatone's been up there.
Yeah, and I was just I lovegardens and I love just walking
by like last year, that was onethat I sat like, actually sat
and watched a little while, justJust going from a pile of dirt
(29:14):
to a beautiful thing in two daysis crazy.
Speaker 1 (29:17):
Yeah, it takes me nine weeks to plant the garden.
These kids are doing somethingyou could tell on TV in two days
.
Speaker 2 (29:24):
I also like walking by the animation and game art
one too.
Speaker 1 (29:28):
I'm a big gamer and I love animation, so going by
there and I'm like I love goingby early in the competition when
it all looks just looks likenotes and paper and doodles on
paper, and then you get to seethe end product at the
presentations and it was likehow did you get from there to
there in such a short span?
Speaker 2 (29:44):
I did that this morning.
I went and looked around andI'm going to go back tomorrow
and yeah.
Speaker 1 (29:48):
And see how far they've gone.
Yeah, yeah, it's really cool tosee it is.
It is.
What are your expectations foryou and your position going
forward?
You're new.
I'm sure you got some visionsof where you want to take this.
What are your visions for thework you want to bring now?
Speaker 2 (30:03):
My vision is just I mean, it's going to depend on
what we can do.
My vision is just ultimatelyjust boosting capacity.
Yeah, Just offering moreprograms, offering Different
trades.
Different trades but also doingmore to keep consistent with
them.
Okay yeah.
Keeping up to date with them sothat Because sometimes you know
(30:26):
we do a workshop in like Augustand they might be interested.
Then we do the territorialskills competition.
Speaker 1 (30:31):
I'd like to do some things that are Too long of a
break in between.
Speaker 2 (30:34):
Yeah, I'd like to do some things that are it's too
long of a break in between.
Yeah, I'd like to do some morethings that are year round.
Yeah, that we have kids who aremore prepared and just more
confident going into this.
Speaker 1 (30:41):
They can take more from it.
Well, we've talked to some ofthe provinces and, like I mean,
they got gold medal winners thatare training full time right.
Like I mean that's it right,yeah, I can imagine.
Speaker 2 (31:01):
I I've seen some videos of worlds and that looks
the whole crazy experience, yeah, it.
Yeah, a big thing is the, theturnaround right, the, the
people we have now.
I'm hoping they'll come backand maybe encourage and create
that mentor cycle.
Yeah, we're big on that mentorcycle and the alumni coming back
and helping where they can.
Speaker 1 (31:22):
Awesome.
Last couple of questions foryou.
Number one we talked about thetrades you love to watch and
look at, but let's hit the resetbutton.
We're going back in time andBrandon's you know, 16, coming.
And we're going back in timeand Brandon's, you know, 16,
coming, getting ready tograduate high school.
But knowing what you know ofall the trades now, what would
you choose to be something to gointo school for?
Speaker 2 (31:43):
Honestly, if I went back at 16, I probably would
have gone to school for 3D gameart.
Speaker 1 (31:49):
3D game art is that the second person that said that
today?
Yeah, yeah, and the other onewas blake from northwest okay,
him and I are gonna chat later.
Speaker 2 (31:57):
Big gamers yeah, we'll chat about that.
We haven't had a gameconversation yet, but we are now
you are?
Speaker 1 (32:02):
yeah, we talked about it for like half an hour after
the show.
We're like game, game, game,game.
Because I'm a huge gamer I'mgonna do it tonight.
Speaker 2 (32:07):
I'm messaging blake, after this we'll meet up all
right, awesome.
Speaker 1 (32:12):
And last question you know, in terms of inspiring
your, your group, you know, whenyou're trying to get the
competitors together and andthey're kind of getting just in
the initial concept of skills,what do you say to them to pump
them up?
What do you say to them to getmore involved in skills, to work
towards this end?
Speaker 2 (32:32):
um, just being encouraging.
Just like you know, you'relearning something new that
maybe you don't follow as acareer, but it's going to be
skills you have for the rest ofyour life.
It's something you're going toremember for the rest of your
life.
Honestly, I wish I would havehad this in school.
I think this is a life-changingexperience for these kids.
It is genuinely something thatthey're never going to forget,
(32:53):
and that alone is worth takingpart in this 100% Awesome.
Speaker 1 (32:57):
Well, I hope you guys get on the podium.
I hope you do well, and I'mvery proud of you and your
program and what you're doing.
Me, too, I couldn't be happierwith how it's going Awesome.
Well, thanks so much for beingon the show today.
Thanks for having me.
I had a good time Okay andawesome.
Well, for all the people thatare following along with the
skills podcast, make sure youcheck them all.
We're learning about everyprovince through their executive
(33:18):
directors and what they do and,uh, you know how they can
succeed.
And we're here in Regina andeveryone's given it.
We're going to find outSaturday who the winners are.
That's going to be crazy, butwe still got another full day of
podcasts to record tomorrow, somake sure you check out all 13
podcasts that we'll be doingUntil then.
I'll catch you at 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.
(00:24):
Hello and welcome to anotheredition of the CWB Association
podcast.
This week we have the honor ofbeing here in Regina,
saskatchewan, for SkillsNational Competitions.
As a part of our programmingwith Skills this year, we are
interviewing all the executivedirectors of all the provinces
and territories across thecountry.
Right now we have BrandonVilleneuve, who is the executive
(00:46):
director for the Nunavut group.
How's it going, brandon?
It's going great.
I'm having a great time.
How are you liking regina sofar you ever been here before?
Speaker 2 (00:52):
no, this is my first time in regina.
Um, it's been beautiful.
I I like in terms oflandscaping.
The city is miraculously wellkept and that's been really cool
to see yeah, I think it's a.
Speaker 1 (01:04):
It's something that people don't expect when they
come to regina how green it is,how much parks and trees and
water, and a few of our kidsthat we brought down have never
been down south before.
Speaker 2 (01:14):
Yeah, so some of them are are seeing trees for the
first time so that's been reallyneat and they've been really
enjoying that.
Speaker 1 (01:20):
That's good.
That's good.
So let's start with your team.
How many people came down?
What are you representing?
Speaker 2 (01:25):
so there's about about 36 of us who came down.
Um, we have a handful of kidswho are part of the soaring
skills program oh, awesome, yeah, um.
So we get to bring them andthey're not competing, but they
get to check out the competitionand and see what it's about.
Um, they trend a little younger.
I think all of our kids are ingrade nine.
Speaker 1 (01:45):
Okay, that's a great age to do this, though.
Speaker 2 (01:48):
Yeah, they're all very excited.
They're having a blast.
They have gone back to theirhotel, they're wiped.
Speaker 1 (01:54):
It's hard to wipe a 15-year-old.
Let me tell you.
Speaker 2 (01:57):
Oh my God, yeah.
And then we have a number ofchaperones.
We have kids participating incooking, baking, small engine.
Speaker 1 (02:06):
How many trades are you got competitions?
Speaker 2 (02:08):
for I believe we have 13 participants in 11 or 12
trades, some of them are two.
Yeah, double trade?
Speaker 1 (02:17):
Yeah, and you know as you prepare them for this
journey.
You know, like you said, somany people from the Northern
Territories have never left,have never been on a plane, have
never traveled without theirparents or family.
How do you prepare everyone forthis, like, I mean, at least
you're not dropping them intoToronto or something real scary
but that's next year.
(02:37):
That's next year right, but atleast for this, you know how do
you prepare them for this typeof trip.
Speaker 2 (02:45):
We prepare them for this type of trip?
Um, we prepare them by beinghonest.
We we let them know what toexpect.
Um, we tell you know you'regoing to get to, there's going
to be a lot of people we are.
So our territorial competitionbefore this is in a high school
gymnasium.
So going from that to this isis a wild shock.
I'm assuming to most of themyeah, um, so we, we let them
(03:06):
know.
You know it's going to be a bigthing.
There's going to be a lot ofpeople there like just do the
best you can learn from theexperience, have fun with it and
yeah, just enjoy yourself.
Speaker 1 (03:17):
Yeah, good, yeah.
Now, in terms of the peoplethat you have supporting them.
You said you got 13 competitorsand you said 36 in total, so
that that gives me 20, no, but30, no, 20.
I'm really bad at math rightnow.
23 support people, so is thatfamily?
Speaker 2 (03:32):
oh, no, sorry 36, uh 13 or competitors 10 or soaring
skills students okay, okay so,uh, you got 13 other supporters
then yeah, so three are thechaperones for soaring skills.
We've got a number ofchaperones and coaches with us.
We have have our staff which isfour of us, and then we have
coaches to support thecompetitors.
Speaker 1 (03:52):
Now, have you been to Provincial Skills?
How long have you been with theSkills family?
Speaker 2 (03:57):
So I was on the board , originally in Nunavut, I felt
that it was a board that'd befun to be on and a good cause to
get into Um.
And then our executive directorposition was opening up this
year and I said, no, that'ssomething I feel like you're
good at.
And I got lucky and got intothe position I'm in.
So I've been in this positionfor only about two months now.
(04:19):
Oh wow.
Speaker 1 (04:20):
Yeah Well, you hit the ground on fire.
Speaker 2 (04:22):
There you go, I hit the ground just as Territorials
were starting.
I was very lucky in theexecutive director before me had
been there a long time and itwas pretty set up yeah.
They had a pretty well-oiledmachine already going, so I'm
very lucky in the position I'min.
Speaker 1 (04:39):
How long has Nunavut have had a skills team?
Like, have they been aroundsince 98, kind of, when everyone
joined up, or uh, none of itdidn't exist in that's right.
So like, uh, what?
Speaker 2 (04:50):
did they come into it ?
I think our incorporationdocuments 2005, so I'm assuming
we had shortly after programsand I know we've had teams for
at least a decade.
I know there was a covid kindof messing stuff up and we
weren't able to go around.
It's really hard to do thingsin the North because there's you
can't drive, it's veryexpensive, everything has to fly
(05:11):
.
Speaker 1 (05:11):
That's right and everything's far from each other
.
Speaker 2 (05:13):
So to bring people in from other communities we have
to fly them in from all over theplace.
Wow, and during COVID that wasjust not a thing.
Speaker 1 (05:19):
Well, and the price of that?
Even at the best of times it's,it's pricey you live in a
pricey world I I have a friendof mine who does nursing up in
in of it.
Every year he goes up on a tourand he always sends down those
pictures that scare everybody,you know, like the 26 pepsis and
the yeah, everybody goes totake pictures of the orange
juice price now, but you guysgotta live in that yeah, so,
(05:40):
like when you're talking aboutsupporting the kids in trades,
you gotta've got to factor inthat's a major barrier or hurdle
that you need to manage through, because the consumables and
the equipment and the thingsthey need to train are more
expensive.
Speaker 2 (05:58):
There's a couple of things we really have to factor
in that changes in the north.
One is definitely cost yeah,especially with airlines, and
having to transport back andforth from other communities
because we're centralized in acall it, but we want to include
as many of the communities wecan, for sure, and it's not that
big right.
Yeah, a call it's about 9 000.
The territory itself, I think,is about 35 yeah but we want to
(06:21):
include as many kids and givethem the opportunity from all
over the territory and thatbecomes really pricey no, um,
and then also, along with uh,materials and things are more
expensive up there, but a bigone is just finding support as
well right um because there's Imean there's a ton of different
trades and technologies andservice skills that people
compete here that we can'treally take part in, cause we
(06:44):
just don't have people up Northwho are doing those?
trades and skills.
Um, we're, we're at uh, we're avictim to what we can find.
We, we're, we have a passionategroup and we're, we're reaching
out to more to try and get morepartners.
But there's some things we justthere's no business for up
north.
Speaker 1 (07:02):
There's no.
It's one of the questions I'vehad with all the executive
directors, and it's howimportant partners and sponsors
are in order to be able tosupport your team.
Now, the more remote you get,the further you get away from
main centers, the less companiesyou have, the less availability
to sponsors and supporters.
(07:24):
How do you because a big partof your job is to find them how
do you find or how do you workwith that system?
Speaker 2 (07:30):
it's it's just a matter of going out and, uh,
putting your boots on the groundand knocking on doors just
communicating with everybody and, uh, shareholders and stuff
locally, um, we don't have the,the major corporations that are
down here.
A lot of them are just notpresent up north.
So it's and part of it.
It's not all a negative, someof it is a positive.
(07:51):
It's a smaller community.
You get to support more localcommunity partners, so we get to
support local communitypartners, but we also know each
other a lot more.
There is a small town mentality, like I know the people who run
the hotels locally I know, yeah, we know a lot of the teachers.
We know a lot of people whojust like if we need something,
we know, hey, we can reach outto this company specifically and
(08:11):
yeah, it's, there's a lot ofhelp and stuff like that.
Speaker 1 (08:15):
Well, let's go back to you.
Let's get your origin story allright.
So you were on the board, butnow you're the ed.
But what pulled you into thisworld of skills at all?
How did it get on?
Speaker 2 (08:26):
your radar.
So I'm from sudbury, ontariooriginally.
Okay, the big nickel.
Yeah, um, I went up north andand just loved it.
Yeah, that was about eightyears ago.
Speaker 1 (08:38):
I was in banking for a long time um, like the working
for the banks or robbing.
Speaker 2 (08:43):
I was uh, legally I can't discuss um no, I was
working for a major bank, for awhile and I.
I wanted to do something more,uh, to contribute to the
community, so I left banking andjoined the government.
For a while, uh, the governmentin, and and I was working in a
position where I could help.
So were you banking in?
Yeah, okay, okay, I see, yeah,um, so I went with the
government who I was in aposition where I could help.
Speaker 1 (09:03):
So were you banking in Nunavut?
Yeah, okay, okay, I see yeah.
Speaker 2 (09:05):
So I went with the government who was in a position
to provide grants andcontributions to nonprofits.
So that felt like kind of amiddle ground where I wasn't
directly helping but I wassupporting in some way Corporate
, but still community.
Yeah, so it was kind of amiddle ground and I was happier
in that and and then, uh, I goton the board here and saw how
(09:28):
passionate these kids were andhow passionate like people were
locally, because I I myselfpersonally have no trades
experience, nor in your family.
No, I have, I have uh, an unclewho changes tires and stuff and
my grandfather was anelectrician so my family has a
little bit yeah I've done a fewthings with them when I was
young cool, um, but I saw allthe passion and the kids and the
community and how much thatskills benefits them and their
(09:50):
future and just building upthere and I said, you know, I
want to be a part of that.
I joined the board and it'sbeen fantastic.
Then this position opened up.
I said, you know, this is kindof what I've always dreamed of
is doing something more thatthat really directly community,
yeah, Something that it can seea real tangible impact locally.
And uh, it's worked out reallywell.
Speaker 1 (10:10):
And in that learning curve, for you to come into this
and basically needing to know alittle bit about all the trades
, being involved with everythingand trying to make those
connections when you don'treally have the background.
What was that curve like?
Speaker 2 (10:26):
Uh, it was exciting.
I'm, I'm somebody I love toread up on stuff and I love to
learn and I've learned a lot inthe last 60 days or so.
Um, I've I've trusted, uh, inthe people we work with.
I've learned a lot from them.
Um, and I'm going to keeplearning.
Like there's going to be somestuff I'll try that's new and
even just wandering around hereI'm like that'd be fun to do.
(10:48):
It's.
It's a steep learning curve atsome points but, it's, it's been
so.
I've been happier in the last 60days doing this work that I
have in any job I've ever had,and it's been so rewarding.
Speaker 1 (11:00):
Well, have they?
Have they given you the mafiaspeech yet?
No, not yet.
Speaker 2 (11:04):
Yeah, because once you're in skills oh yes, no,
somebody mentioned that to mepretty early yeah, when I get no
, I came last year to nationals,yeah, and I was on the conflict
resolution committee and theysaid, uh, you know, once you do
this, once you're doing thisforever.
Yeah, and I said, oh, okay.
And then this year they're likewe told you.
Well, we see your position now.
(11:26):
We discussed this.
Speaker 1 (11:27):
Yeah, there's no way getting out of it.
And I mean, I'm in the sameboat.
I started off as a mentor,helping with scales, supporting
as a welder welding instructor,and then eventually just got
more and more involved with it.
One of the first things I didwhen I became an ed for the
(11:49):
canadian welding bureau is wegotta tag out the skills
professionally.
It makes sense.
We're in a private association,well-funded one, where we can
support and do a lot of good.
But number two, personally Ihave an attachment to it.
Right, I feel, like you said,this is an organization that
does very like a to bconnections, where we're helping
young kids and they succeed andI'm not talking medals, we're
talking just success and thenfrom there they go off to have
(12:11):
amazing careers and it's, itworks every time I'm really
looking forward to that aspectof working with skills is just
seeing these kids go from uh,competing here and like working
with us, working with ourmentors, to seeing them go on to
competing here and like workingwith us, working with our
mentors to seeing them go on tobe apprentices and getting jobs
in this, these areas, yeah.
(12:32):
And I think that's something I'mlooking forward to the most in
throughout my time.
Well, and what's going tohappen and this is what I heard
from a couple of the other EDsthat have been around for over
20 years is that you see thelong-term cycle of skills where
it goes like and then theybecome the next EDs, and then
they become on the board andit's like it's a life like that.
They've kind of been skills orskills adjacent.
Speaker 2 (12:47):
Yeah, uh, some of our board or skills alumni, uh, our
program coordinators, the skillskills alumni as well for new
needed for us Yep they they justsee the passion.
They want to give back as well.
Uh, in when you came into thisrole, did you have any
not-for-profit experienceoutside of the the bank?
(13:07):
Um, not a ton.
I did a lot with the governmentwhen I was dealing with
non-profits and doing uh I didtheir grants, contributions,
applications and stuff like thatyeah so working with that and
and diverting funding andworking in that aspect was
really helpful yeah um, butother than that no it's been.
Speaker 1 (13:24):
So what skills did you have to learn real quick?
What were the skills that youhad to pick up and be like, okay
, I gotta get better at this.
Speaker 2 (13:28):
I worked for the government for a while and there
was a lot like government has alot of money Going from a major
bank to the government, to asmall nonprofit.
You have to learn budgeting butstricter budgeting very quick
yeah, rubbing those penniestogether.
Oh yeah, that was you know going.
I knew that going in because Iwas on the board.
I knew what we were workingwith.
(13:49):
Yeah, so there will be a lot ofI'm a lot of uh, reaching out
and hoping we can get moresponsors in the future now, are
you the type of director thatwants to budget first and then
find the money, or do you liketo find the money?
Speaker 1 (14:03):
I my anxiety, I want to know we have something before
we're going to spend it.
Speaker 2 (14:09):
Uh spending money we don't have.
Speaker 1 (14:12):
Yeah, that's that it's not just there, no, no we,
we.
I do not want to put us in ahole of any sort so, yeah, now
what about the skills that youfeel you you're going to need to
learn?
Like, the whole aspect of thisof the setup is skills based,
essential skills, skills forsuccess, all these things.
(14:32):
So you came in with a certainset of skills you're learning,
you know better money managementskills, budgeting skills.
But when you come here and seeall the other, you know, uh, eds
and the ntcs and just thesystem in general, what are the
things that you're like?
Speaker 2 (14:46):
okay, I gotta pick up on these things um, a big thing
that I'm uh gonna be workingtowards in the future is just
working on things like uhprogramming and, um like
curriculum management in termsof like putting workshops
together or even our territorialskills competition, putting
stuff together that is, uh, justbeneficial to the kids and
(15:10):
prepares them for what to expecthere.
Speaker 1 (15:12):
Being in a community where everyone's so dispersed
into small communities, does theonline or the virtual sphere
help with recruitment or withbringing people in, like I mean,
I've heard that kind of go bothways, depending on on the
province more recently trendingthat direction a little bit.
Speaker 2 (15:32):
Um until I would say about two years ago, the
internet was horrible yeah, youguys are all starlink now.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I have one onmy house yeah uh, we have one
on the office.
Yeah, it's.
Yeah, it's just.
Without that we could notfunction.
Yeah, like it.
It's like a fortune to get 200gigabytes a month with our our
(15:52):
plans and it's still not evengood.
Yeah, I mean it's, it'sfunctional now which is good,
yeah, um, but a lot of peoplestill don't have home internet,
so right, it does help in termsof communicating the schools a
lot, but people still don't havehome internet, so it does help
in terms of communicating withthe schools a lot more.
Speaker 1 (16:04):
But you're not able to run virtual competitions yet.
Speaker 2 (16:07):
We did.
We've tried a little bit duringCOVID and last year we did a
little bit as well, because weagain going back to the travel
thing, we did territorial skillslast year and 50% of our
competitors were weathered out.
Their flights were canceled,they didn't make it, yeah.
So we had to kind of adapt tosomething remote, because we
can't, they can't drive in.
(16:28):
So if their flight cancels,hope next year?
Speaker 1 (16:32):
Wishful thinking.
What if you could acquirefunding to bring everyone down
to like an Alberta orSaskatchewan or Ontario and have
access to a college for like amonth and have everyone train on
professional equipment, withall the space and all the
consumables and all theresources they need?
Like, like.
How would you, how do yousupport your team, to get to the
(16:53):
point where they're getting thesame level of support that the
major centers get?
Speaker 2 (16:57):
It's, I mean the, the pipe dream would be getting
something like that.
Speaker 1 (17:01):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (17:04):
Um, just to get that support is just working with
partners, and something I'mdoing this week is reaching out
to NTC members who organize thecompetitions here and kind of
bringing what we do sort of upto par with what you're doing
here and just gaining moreinformation and tips on how to
prepare our competitors.
Speaker 1 (17:21):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (17:22):
And we've brought a couple this time to work with
gaining more information andtips on how to prepare our
competitors.
Yeah and um, we brought acouple this time to work with.
Uh, we brought a plumber and amechanic down to work with a
little bit of the ntc, to kindof just the procedures and the
formats yeah just to gain somemore knowledge on how to work
with kids and how to how to puta, put a competition together
that'll be, beneficial to them.
Um so, just working with theright people is like huge are
(17:45):
the sponsors and partners, andand just volunteers are just a
massive part of what we do likethe most.
You can hear people just lovingit right now yeah, but like the
, the volunteers we we have arefantastic and without them we
just can't do this yeah, likeall these not-for-profits, like
without the volunteers you don'treally have a business.
Yeah our territory skillscompetition.
(18:05):
We have a ton of volunteers andwithout them that doesn't.
That doesn't get together.
Speaker 1 (18:08):
Yeah what about the communications or interactions
between the territories?
Like, I mean, you're not reallyany closer to northwest
territories than you are tomanitobaoba per se.
Speaker 2 (18:22):
We do have a really good relationship with the NWT
and the Yukon.
My first week we talked withthe other Blake and Katie yeah.
Previous ED Janice introducedme to them online very quick.
We have calls set up Because weall to some degree deal with
the same thing.
They have been great and justreach out.
we have calls set up where causewe all to some degree kind of
(18:43):
deal with the same thing so wecan uh, they have been great and
just been, you know reach outto us if you have questions like
and they've been really helpfulin that, because we sort of
deal with the same issues andthe same logistics problems and
it's nice to have people who arein my position and it both
physically and also likelogistically.
Speaker 1 (19:02):
And that helps a lot.
Now I know that, uh, when I wastalking to blake, there was a
the dream floated of could weever, or could you ever, host a
national conference in theterritories, like how would that
happen?
Because like how do you bringthe spotlight north?
As you know, was kind of howthe conversation started and so
like thinking about that, askingyou how do we bring the
(19:24):
spotlight?
Because with the spotlightcomes money, with the spotlight
comes funders.
Absolutely right, like how dowe get the spotlight up?
Just a small community likethat, but is obviously
harnessing great talent.
Speaker 2 (19:37):
I would absolutely love if the nationals could be
held in nunavut.
Um, right it just logistically.
We well, look at this center.
We, we have nothing.
Even if you add up all of ourpublic space in the calo, it's,
we just don't have it.
No, um, hopefully someday.
Um, the only way that couldreally work is like splitting it
(19:57):
up and putting some here andsome there.
But then logistics, yeah, thenyou're back to.
Speaker 1 (20:01):
That should be even more of a nightmare.
Speaker 2 (20:03):
But day one yukon, day two northwest but it would
be so wonderful to have it upthere that would be, it'd be so
cool and it would really,because part of it is, uh,
engaging the kids and bringingthem in and coming down here is
a big thing, but, like one thingthe territorials skills
competition does for us is thatwe can really bring the
community in and let them seewhat it's like, and so having
(20:26):
nationals up there would be justso wonderful in terms of
bringing people in and be likethis is where we've been going.
This is what we've been doingand really, opening their eyes
to that.
Speaker 1 (20:35):
I know that at the CWB Association we're looking
all the time at how we cansupport the territories better.
We have camps, we have a numberof programs running in all
three territories, but they'reonly like exploratory, they're
kind of just scratching thesurface.
The conversation always comesup how can we make a more
lasting impact?
Speaker 2 (20:55):
We really I mean me personally going forward.
I want to do more to bridge thegap between uh grade nine and
apprentice and I want to do moreto uh mentor throughout the
year leading up to territorialsnationals.
Yeah, um, and work with kitjust finding out what kids are
passionate about, what they wantto do what they're interested
(21:16):
in, getting them in front ofwhatever they need to try it,
and then just putting them incontact with the right people.
That'll nurture that skill setand just building towards the
future.
So a big thing is just keepworking with these kids and and
and being present rather than,you know, prepare for a
competition or workshop and justtry and do something that is
(21:39):
more regular.
Speaker 1 (21:40):
Yeah, now is the work there for them that's a, you
know, that's a conversation Ihad with the maritimes.
Like I live in saskatchewan,out here in the west, that's
never an issue.
There's always work.
We have very low unemploymentrates.
It's we're blessed, you know,to have that ability.
But you get into the, the, Iguess, the exterior parts of the
country and it's not as solid,but I don't know the story in
(22:03):
any way.
Like what?
What is going on up there,industry wise?
What's the big hires?
Speaker 2 (22:08):
uh housing is.
We have a huge uh housingdeficit up there, so
construction yeah constructiontrades up north are always
hiring and always interested inhiring locally because with a
lot of those companies they haveto fly people in from down
south to do that that's soexpensive yeah they so it.
You know, if you're a apprenticecarpenter, like a apprentice
(22:31):
plumber or something like that,you like you'll get hired.
Yeah, there is work for trades.
Um, I know there's some stuffbuilding up in the technologies.
I think um like there's someplaces that's graphic design,
things like that so there arejobs up there for them?
Speaker 1 (22:47):
what about mining?
Is the mining?
Speaker 2 (22:48):
industry is big up there.
Um.
We have baffin land and agnigoeagle there and doing work.
There's many mines in Nunavut?
Speaker 1 (22:56):
Yeah, and I'm sure they're looking to hire.
Yeah, they're always, Just likeeveryone else millwrights,
welders, fabricators, all of itright we had one of them come to
our territorial skillcompetition and set up a booth.
Nice.
Speaker 2 (23:07):
They're always interested in trades.
We have two major airlines upnorth like Comair Canadian North
that are always looking forpeople.
There is a lot of opportunities.
It's just a matter of gettingit in front of these kids and
getting them aimed towards thoseopportunities and get the
training they require to getthere.
Speaker 1 (23:25):
Is there still a lot of thoughts or I guess trends in
the north of you need to getout of here, we need to move
somewhere else to make money.
I got to leave here or arepeople pretty happy trying to
stay there, stay in thecommunity and and, and I guess,
contribute locally?
Speaker 2 (23:40):
I I don't hear the mentality of of having to leave
to make money there's.
I've talked to people who haveto leave for education sometimes
because that might not beoffered right but uh, most
people I thought like they wantto stay there and there are
opportunities if they get theright training and the right
skills that to stay there andwork, but people, people I talk
(24:01):
to just love being there andlove the north and love their
families and and the peoplethere and and will stay there if
they can, and there's, like Isaid, a lot of opportunities
yeah, it's funny because wealways joke in saskatchewan that
you know all these transientworkers float through
saskatchewan and then we catchthem and they never leave.
Speaker 1 (24:18):
It's one of those provinces you don't hear much
about.
Everyone thinks we're flat andugly and barren.
Then you get here and realizethat it's actually really cheap
to live here and really goodmoney and it's not that bad
right now.
I've also heard the same of theterritories.
Yeah, I've had many friends goup to the territories on a
one-year contract.
They never come back.
Speaker 2 (24:37):
I went up for a vacation.
I went up to check it out for athree-week vacation and I just
fell in love with it.
Speaker 1 (24:44):
And I was like it's great here and my father texts
me about once a year.
Speaker 2 (24:47):
He's like when are you coming back?
Are you coming back?
Speaker 1 (24:50):
And last year he mess .
Speaker 2 (24:53):
He messaged me and he said I don't think you're
coming back.
Speaker 1 (24:56):
I said I don't, I don't think so Like, for why?
Like you're good, right, I loveit there.
Speaker 2 (25:01):
When you got an awesome job.
I couldn't be happier with myjob, yeah.
Speaker 1 (25:05):
Yeah, now what about the kids that are are here
competing, or the students arecompetitors.
I should say every province haslike the things that they're
especially good at historically.
Speaker 2 (25:23):
What is it that none of it's coming here to crush
that?
Do you think?
Like we got this in the bag.
You know what?
We have an exceptionally, uh,excited group of kids who are
just really passionate, ready tobe here, just to be here.
Yeah, um, yeah, I, I would sayhonestly across the board.
Speaker 1 (25:31):
We're just ready to go and ready to be here.
Speaker 2 (25:32):
Yeah, um, yeah.
I I would say honestly acrossthe board we're just ready to go
and ready to be a part of this.
Speaker 1 (25:37):
Yeah, um hopefully it gets them on the podium.
Speaker 2 (25:39):
Yeah, they've been working really hard, um, and we
just want them to do their bestand enjoy themselves, and it's
it's a big deal to be down hereoh for sure, yeah, I think.
Speaker 1 (25:50):
To the, to the, every single one of them, it's a
life-changing moment.
Speaker 2 (25:55):
Yeah, that's a big thing.
The first time I came last yearwas a really eye-opening
experience for me.
The territorials were cool,Like for Quebec.
Yeah yeah, Quebec CityTerritorials are cool and it's
beautiful to see that and bepart of the community.
Speaker 1 (26:09):
But when you come here and see the kids from up
north take part in this, it'sreally overwhelming at first
yeah, and you see theminteracting with mentor and with
the other competitors, right,and they're making friends and
they're making new acquaintancesand people from across the
country right just like walkingaround this week and seeing them
uh interact with their coachesand do their their uh, do their
(26:30):
work uh, because I've just beenspending the day kind of
wandering around and see howstudents are going yeah.
Speaker 2 (26:36):
And even I haven't really known them that long and
even I'm filled with pride LikeI can't imagine how their
parents and stuff feel.
One of them is being chaperonedby their mother and she's just
like beaming over her daughterearlier.
Speaker 1 (26:49):
I would hate to be chaperoned by my parents.
It would make me 10 times morenervous.
Speaker 2 (26:58):
I think they're having a blast, but that was
really heartwarming to seeearlier.
Speaker 1 (27:00):
She was just beaming over her daughter like doing a
great job.
What's one of the like?
I mean, we talked aboutlogistics, we talked about
funding, but when you look atthe, at the, at the psyche of
the kids, what's one of theobstacles that you got?
To make sure they're ready for,when they're getting ready to
prepare out there um a big thingis just being listening to them
yeah um, obviously you knowfirst aid jitters.
Speaker 2 (27:17):
Today we've had some, some kids struggling with some
stuff and it's just listening towhat they need, encouraging
them, because you know we're not, we're not giving them the
speech of like you need to gowin, you need to get first we
aren't just go do the best youcan and be happy with that Learn
yeah, Learn, and I said tosomebody earlier don't compare
yourself to the othercompetitors.
(27:38):
Compare yourself to who youwere yesterday.
Speaker 1 (27:41):
Right.
Speaker 2 (27:41):
If you learned something today, then you were
better than you were yesterday.
Yeah, that's awesome.
Yeah, I think that's the bestmentality to go into this with.
Speaker 1 (27:48):
Absolutely.
Now, you said you walked around.
You've walked the whole floor.
Oh yeah, no, you said youwalked around, you've been.
Have you walked the whole floor?
Oh yeah, I've done the wholefloor multiple times.
At this point, what do youthink of the venue and the setup
here?
Speaker 2 (27:58):
I love the setup.
There was something in QuebecCity where we had no.
There was nowhere to sit down,Like at all, and that was rough
so it's been nice to have thearea over there and just have a
seat for a sec.
Yeah, but it is um the otherthing about last year and well,
they did a great job and it waswonderful.
Uh, the space is wider here sothey fit a lot more in here and
(28:21):
it's.
It's great.
It looks terrific in here.
The energy is just really high.
It is everybody's having ablast.
I love seeing like the, theelementary schools and stuff
come in here.
Speaker 1 (28:31):
That's really neat.
They get so pumped they'rerunning around just like crazy.
Speaker 2 (28:34):
Yeah, one of my favorite parts of this is just
watching them interact with thetri-trade booths.
Yeah, like there was, uh, theone doing the digital welding
stuff earlier.
Speaker 1 (28:41):
That's just really cool to see it is now, as you
walked through and checked outall the shows which are your
favorite to watch, like as aspectator, not as a judge, or as
a or as an ed.
Speaker 2 (28:52):
We had this conversation right when we were
coming down here.
Yeah, um, I love watching thecooking and baking because I
like doing some cookingeveryone's top three I the, the
landscaping really blows my thatone's been up there.
Yeah, and I was just I lovegardens and I love just walking
by like last year, that was onethat I sat like, actually sat
and watched a little while, justJust going from a pile of dirt
(29:14):
to a beautiful thing in two daysis crazy.
Speaker 1 (29:17):
Yeah, it takes me nine weeks to plant the garden.
These kids are doing somethingyou could tell on TV in two days
.
Speaker 2 (29:24):
I also like walking by the animation and game art
one too.
Speaker 1 (29:28):
I'm a big gamer and I love animation, so going by
there and I'm like I love goingby early in the competition when
it all looks just looks likenotes and paper and doodles on
paper, and then you get to seethe end product at the
presentations and it was likehow did you get from there to
there in such a short span?
Speaker 2 (29:44):
I did that this morning.
I went and looked around andI'm going to go back tomorrow
and yeah.
Speaker 1 (29:48):
And see how far they've gone.
Yeah, yeah, it's really cool tosee it is.
It is.
What are your expectations foryou and your position going
forward?
You're new.
I'm sure you got some visionsof where you want to take this.
What are your visions for thework you want to bring now?
Speaker 2 (30:03):
My vision is just I mean, it's going to depend on
what we can do.
My vision is just ultimatelyjust boosting capacity.
Yeah, Just offering moreprograms, offering Different
trades.
Different trades but also doingmore to keep consistent with
them.
Okay yeah.
Keeping up to date with them sothat Because sometimes you know
(30:26):
we do a workshop in like Augustand they might be interested.
Then we do the territorialskills competition.
Speaker 1 (30:31):
I'd like to do some things that are Too long of a
break in between.
Speaker 2 (30:34):
Yeah, I'd like to do some things that are it's too
long of a break in between.
Yeah, I'd like to do some morethings that are year round.
Yeah, that we have kids who aremore prepared and just more
confident going into this.
Speaker 1 (30:41):
They can take more from it.
Well, we've talked to some ofthe provinces and, like I mean,
they got gold medal winners thatare training full time right.
Like I mean that's it right,yeah, I can imagine.
Speaker 2 (31:01):
I I've seen some videos of worlds and that looks
the whole crazy experience, yeah, it.
Yeah, a big thing is the, theturnaround right, the, the
people we have now.
I'm hoping they'll come backand maybe encourage and create
that mentor cycle.
Yeah, we're big on that mentorcycle and the alumni coming back
and helping where they can.
Speaker 1 (31:22):
Awesome.
Last couple of questions foryou.
Number one we talked about thetrades you love to watch and
look at, but let's hit the resetbutton.
We're going back in time andBrandon's you know, 16, coming.
And we're going back in timeand Brandon's, you know, 16,
coming, getting ready tograduate high school.
But knowing what you know ofall the trades now, what would
you choose to be something to gointo school for?
Speaker 2 (31:43):
Honestly, if I went back at 16, I probably would
have gone to school for 3D gameart.
Speaker 1 (31:49):
3D game art is that the second person that said that
today?
Yeah, yeah, and the other onewas blake from northwest okay,
him and I are gonna chat later.
Speaker 2 (31:57):
Big gamers yeah, we'll chat about that.
We haven't had a gameconversation yet, but we are now
you are?
Speaker 1 (32:02):
yeah, we talked about it for like half an hour after
the show.
We're like game, game, game,game.
Because I'm a huge gamer I'mgonna do it tonight.
Speaker 2 (32:07):
I'm messaging blake, after this we'll meet up all
right, awesome.
Speaker 1 (32:12):
And last question you know, in terms of inspiring
your, your group, you know, whenyou're trying to get the
competitors together and andthey're kind of getting just in
the initial concept of skills,what do you say to them to pump
them up?
What do you say to them to getmore involved in skills, to work
towards this end?
Speaker 2 (32:32):
um, just being encouraging.
Just like you know, you'relearning something new that
maybe you don't follow as acareer, but it's going to be
skills you have for the rest ofyour life.
It's something you're going toremember for the rest of your
life.
Honestly, I wish I would havehad this in school.
I think this is a life-changingexperience for these kids.
It is genuinely something thatthey're never going to forget,
(32:53):
and that alone is worth takingpart in this 100% Awesome.
Speaker 1 (32:57):
Well, I hope you guys get on the podium.
I hope you do well, and I'mvery proud of you and your
program and what you're doing.
Me, too, I couldn't be happierwith how it's going Awesome.
Well, thanks so much for beingon the show today.
Thanks for having me.
I had a good time Okay andawesome.
Well, for all the people thatare following along with the
skills podcast, make sure youcheck them all.
We're learning about everyprovince through their executive
(33:18):
directors and what they do and,uh, you know how they can
succeed.
And we're here in Regina andeveryone's given it.
We're going to find outSaturday who the winners are.
That's going to be crazy, butwe still got another full day of
podcasts to record tomorrow, somake sure you check out all 13
podcasts that we'll be doingUntil then.
I'll catch you at the nextepisode.
We hope you enjoy the show.
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