After winning his second straight provincial gold medal in the outdoor power and recreational mechanics category at the provincial Skills Canada competition back in April, Orrie Babichuk, a Grade 12 student in Invermay, won a bronze medal at the national Skills Canada competition held in Winnipeg on June 1-2.
The national event included competitions in over 50 different trades, involving approximately 550 competitors, the best of the best across Canada, said Babichuk.
Babichuk was up against nine other competitors in his section of the event. Each of them had to complete 10 different segments, involving everything from working on the final drive system of a Kawasaki dirt buke, to doing a chainsaw compression and vacuum test, to a written test on topics such as electronics and different types of tires.
Babichuk said he finished fourth in his first national competition in 2016, and was hoping for improvement this year.
“I was definitely going for the gold medal,” said Babichuk, “but I feel good that I did better than last year. Winning a bronze medal in a national competition is something I can be proud of.”
Now that his high school career as a Skills Canada competitor is over, Babichuk said it has been an excellent experience for him. He’s grateful to Cecil Machnee, his industrial arts teacher at Canora Composite School, for initially getting him involved in Skills Canada and helping him improve his skills ever since.
In addition to the experience he gained in competing in his own category, he also got a close look at the over 50 other trades involved in the national competition.
For the immediate future, Babichuk is looking forward to high school graduation. After that, he plans to spend a year or so working at Enge Farms near Invermay, where he has worked part time all the way through high school. During the upcoming year he will be carefully considering his options and deciding on a career path for his future.
