Skills Competitions

SAIT students compete on global stage at WorldSkills 2024

Move over Hammer Throw, this Team Canada is throwing actual hammers in France.

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What is Skills?

Skills is an opportunity for trades and technology students to show off their, well, skills in friendly competition. Skills is a great learning opportunity, an amazing student and professional experience and a fun way to connect with industry and expertise from a variety of sectors.

There are three tiers of Skills competitions: provincial, national and international. When you enter a Skills event, you’re competing against both your peers and exacting professional standards.

Competing at Skills is hard work. It takes lots of training and practice, especially at the international level.

Skills Canada Alberta

Provincial Skills Canada Alberta competitions take place in May. Edmonton is hosting the 2025 Post-Secondary Provincial Skills Canada Competition on May 7 and 8, 2025.

Skills Canada Alberta was established in 1992 and typically brings together about 700 competitors from 115 schools in 45 contest areas — including architectural technology and design, baking, carpentry, industrial controls, plumbing, welding and lots more — annually.

If you compete at Skills Canada Alberta and win the gold medal in your discipline, you have the opportunity to join Team Alberta at the Skills Canada National Competition.

Have you got skills? Apply to compete

Skills Canada National Competition

The Skills Canada National Competition is the only national, multi-trade and technology competition for students and apprentices in the country. Each year, more than 500 of Canada’s best competitors from the skilled trades and technologies compete in more than 40 contest areas.

A different Canadian city hosts the event every year. The 2025 Skills Canada National Competition will take place in Regina on May 29-30.

WorldSkills Competition

The WorldSkills Competition is held every two years. The event aims to inspire youth to discover the many interesting careers that are available in the skilled trade and technology sectors.

The 47^th WorldSkills Competition took place in Lyon, France, Sept. 10-15, 2024. Approximately 1,400 competitors from 70 member countries/regions competed in 59 skill areas for the title of world champion in their respective trade. Skill areas represented six sectors:

• Manufacturing and Engineering Technology
• Information and Communication Technology
• Construction and Building Technology
• Transportation and Logistics
• Creative Arts and Fashion
• Social and Personal Services

WorldSkills Lyon 2024 also included 1,300 professional experts from the around the world who evaluated each competitor’s work, plus 2,500 volunteers. Often described as the Olympics of the trades, these games also have spectators — about 250,000 attended in Lyon.

SAIT at Skills

• Calgary hosted the 40^th WorldSkills Competition in 2009. SAIT’s Competitors’ Village played host to a large number of the 850 participants from 47 countries.
• SAIT Culinary Arts grad Korae Nottveit topped the WorldSkills podium in 2022 in Lucerne, Switzerland, bringing home the gold medal for Cooking. Emma Kilgannon won a bronze in Patisserie and Confectionery and Malcome Matwijec won a bronze in Heavy Vehicle Technology.
• SAIT cabinetmaking student Taylor Desjardins had the experience of a lifetime when he represented Canada at the 45th WorldSkills Competition in Kazan, Russia.
• SAIT was the most decorated Alberta post-secondary at the 2023 Skills Canada competitions, bringing home 34 medals at provincials and six medals in Winnipeg at nationals.
• SAIT's Noah Harding, Plumbing, and Tyler Cherkowski, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning, will join Team Canada at WorldSkills 2024 in Lyon, France.

Get involved in Skills

 Have you got skills? Apply to compete