Skills / Compétences Canada, non-profit organization is dedicated to promoting careers in technology and skilled trades. Excerpts from the judging criteria from their annual skills competition are shown on a print mockup.

Skills / Compétences Canada

Professional development program

The design community has contributed so much to my professional career and personal growth. The idea of paying it forward by nurturing the future generation of designers by sharing my knowledge and expertise is what drew me to volunteer my time at Skills / Compétences Canada. This non-profit organization is dedicated to promoting careers in technology and skilled trades.

As Co-Chair of their National Technical Committee of Graphic Design, I worked closely with representatives from each province and territory to spearhead the planning and designing process at various levels of their industry competitions across the country. My responsibilities included identifying sets of skills and techniques to be tested, designing the project and judging criteria, and evaluating competitors at the secondary and post-secondary level during annual skill competitions. I worked with other committee members and educators across the country to define a curriculum that includes unique projects each year.

I strongly believe in educational equity, regardless of where you come from. After being exposed to the extreme knowledge, skill, and funding gaps between provinces and territories, I felt compelled to help bridge these gaps. During my 10-year tenure, this came in the form of consulting and mentoring various students and educators all across Canada. Before volunteering here, I had noticed that only certain provinces would dominate in succeeding at industry competitions. Now in the last few years, I've been delighted to witness more and more medalists come from various other parts of Canada. I look forward to seeing this trend continue for years to come.

My RolesCommunication, Competition Development, Education, Evaluation, Event Planning, Front-End Development, Infrastructure Planning, Project Management, User Experience, User Interface, Volunteer Recruitment
CollaboratorsJohn Barry, Michel Bulon, Craig Chislett, April Condon, Lyle Cruise, Nina Ho, Jim Hoffman, Tim Ireland, Tracey Landry, Albert Law, Marilou Leduc, Cameron Mackay, Michel Maltais, Becki Peckham, René Ragetli, James Rogowy, Chloe Stark, Bill Yang
PhotographySkills / Compétences Canada
Event photo of 2 student competitors concentrating with headphones while on the computer during the Graphic Design competition.Event photo of students cheering for their home province of New Brunswick. Members from the crowd are waving a flag to show their team spirit, for the round of competitor introductions during the opening ceremony.
Event photo of students and teachers showing their team spirit by wearing matching red attire and holding up inflatable cheering sticks. They are seen marching towards the main stage during the opening ceremony.Event photo of a student from the province of Quebec celebrating their victory after receiving a medal during the closing ceremony.
Desktop web preview. The web browser header.
Desktop web preview. Hero section of landing page for skills competition.
Desktop web preview. Text-heavy page showcases a variety of text formats such as single lines, paragraphs, and bulleted lists related to the skills competition.
Desktop web preview. Image-heavy page showcases a masonry grid of images which visually represent the skills competition.
Desktop web preview. This page showcases downloadable competitor packages which competitors can save to their local desktop.
Mobile optimized preview to showcase mobile responsive design. Hero section of landing page for skills competition.Mobile optimized preview to showcase mobile responsive design. Text-heavy page showcases a variety of text formats such as single lines, paragraphs, and bulleted lists related to the skills competition.Mobile optimized preview to showcase mobile responsive design. This page showcases downloadable competitor packages which competitors can save to their mobile device.
Event photo of 5 student competitors concentrating while looking at their computer screens during the Graphic Design competition.Event photo of student from the province of Saskatchewan celebrating their victory after receiving a medal during the closing ceremony.
Event photo of students and teachers from the province of Ontario showing their team spirit by holding up their provincial flags. They are seen marching towards the main stage during the opening ceremony.Event photo of an Indigenous dancer performing during the opening ceremony.
Visualization of the infrastructure map for the competitions venue.
Event photo of students and teachers representing the province of Saskatchewan showing their team spirit by holding up inflatable cheering sticks. They are seen marching towards the main stage during the opening ceremony.Event photo of 4 student competitors concentrating while looking at their computer screens during the Graphic Design competition.
Event photo of students and teachers from the province of British Columbia, showing their team spirit by holding up their provincial flags. They are seen marching towards the main stage during the opening ceremony.Event photo of students and teachers from the province of Nova Scotia, showing their team spirit by holding up their provincial flags. They are seen marching towards the main stage during the opening ceremony.