In early June, three Assiniboine College students came home with some prestigious awards at the Skills Canada competition in Quebec City where they competed with the best of the best 500 students from across the country.

Network Administration Technology student, Christopher Obsniuk, received a gold medal prize, as did Kathryn Nichol in Digital Art and Design.  Nik Ross received a bronze award in Electrical Installation.

According to an RBC report, Canada will face a shortage of 10,000 skilled trade workers by 2026, so for Assiniboine College to come home with these kinds of awards on a national level speaks to the high level of education these students are receiving, says Kevin Rogers, Academic Chair of Manufacturing and Agricultural Processing.

"I think the other thing too, is that philosophy of 'learn by doing' really comes through," explains Rogers. "You get to see it, you get to practice it and get the feedback on how you did, and that feedback has obviously been pretty good if our students can win those national competitions.  But also, it makes it for the graduate going out there knowing that they have skills to do what they signed up for in that trade, so whether that's a plumber or an electrician, or an autobody mechanic, they get that feedback so that they have the confidence to do what they need to do and have long and prosperous careers."

Rogers agrees there is a definite gap in the trades and that's something they're trying their best to fill at Assiniboine College. He notes that when employers are hiring new employees, they want to be confident that this new member of the team has the skills and abilities to be an asset to the team.  This again, is a key goal for Assiniboine College.

Please listen to more with Kevin Rogers below on this topic.

(Photo ID: L to R (Kathryn Nichol, Christopher Obsniuk, Nik Ross)