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With barely enough time to catch their breath and revel in their wins at the Skills Ontario competition in April, two Niagara College students found themselves back on the winner’s podium at the Skills Canada National Competition in Vancouver, May 25 to 28.

Matt Mackie (Grimsby), who will graduate from the Game Development program later this month, won a silver in the 3D digital Game Art competition, while Welding Technician student Jake Boekestyn  (Niagara-on-the-Lake) won bronze in the welding competition.

The Skills Canada National Competition (NSNC) is the only national, multi-trade and technology competition for students and apprentices in the country. This year, 350 students and apprentices from across Canada competed for the title of national champion in more than 45 skill areas. Each qualified for SCNC after winning gold in their province or territory.

Both Mackie and Boekestyn competed in WorldSkills Team Canada Selection Category, giving them an opportunity to earn a spot at the 2022 WorldSkills Competition.

“For our students to put their skills to the test alongside the top students in Canada and be ranked in the top three speaks volumes,” said Vincent Van Schaik, dean of the School of Media, Trades and Technology. “Seeing our students shine on the national stage is something we’re very proud of. Their exemplary achievements show Canada that NC students are receiving the best education from faculty and staff who are committed to seeing them succeed.”

Silver: 3D Digital Game Art

It was literally a race to the finish for Mackie, who was tasked with 3D modeling, texturing, and animating a tortoise and modeling and texturing a chariot for a fictitious racing game.

“In the design brief, they went into detail about the backstory [and] why you were making these things,” Mackie said. “So [it’s as if] you’re handed a document from someone in a studio [and told this is] your task to complete. They gave us a fake game idea: These chariots are being piloted by these tortoises and you had to tie the two together.”

What he did over the course of two nine-hour days would normally take a week to do if he had the time, Mackie said. “[There] was a lot to be focused on [and] gauging what you still had left,” he said. “I was making lists to make sure I was constantly taking into consideration what I had left to do and just prioritizing things properly.”

“I can’t say enough about how proud I am of Matt’s accomplishment,” says Charles Kopun, associate dean of Media. “He showed incredible poise in dealing with every challenge he was presented with competing for the first time at the national level.”

Heading into the competition with a first-place win at Skills Ontario under his belt, Mackie said it felt surreal to have reached the national competition level.

“Before that Skills Ontario competition, I had never competed before; it wasn’t something I was used to even being in competition for,” he said. “I didn’t even have time to register that [Skills Ontario] win; I was thinking about how this competition was going to go and how there’s so many more people I’m going to be competing against this time.”

Game Development professor Conor MacNeill said it was inspiring to watch not just Niagara College’s competitors, but everyone who was there.

“Everybody was just so dialed in and so good at their craft,” he said. “Matt’s competition was super impressive. I think the game art booth may have been one of the most focused in the whole convention centre.

“For me, it definitely left the feeling that Canada as a whole is in really good shape with the next generation coming up.”

Mackie said MacNeill and his colleague, Kevin Gordon, were instrumental in preparing him for the competition-including last-minute strategizing when a glitch delayed the delivery of the design brief until the day before the competition was to begin.

“They were prepping me for any situation that I was going to be thrown into…[and] what kind of animations that I could manage to fit into anything that [I’d be] making,” he said. “There was a bit of a hiccup involving the design brief, so I wasn’t able to [see] the design brief until the day before the competition. Conor was a super huge help for that. We were at the hotel, basically talking strategy the whole night.”

MacNeill said Mackie took the unexpected complication in stride.

“Sometimes in life the experience or the journey trumps the reward and the results,” he said. “I think this was one of those cases. I couldn’t be prouder of how Matt handled everything.”

Bronze: Welding

For Boekestyn, who describes himself as “pretty competitive by nature,” the three days he spent demonstrating his welding skills were ones he won’t forget.

“I loved every minute of it,” he said. “It was amazing. I’d go back in a second if I could.”

Competing against other welders–some of whom were third-year apprentices–Boekestyn knew the competition would be stiff and the days would be long, but he was eager to represent Niagara College at a national level.

“I was so excited to be able to travel and to compete for the school and myself,” he said. “I

t was such an amazing opportunity. I was so happy to just be able to go and compete and I knew it was going

to be a really difficult competition.”

On Day 1, Boekestyn was required to weld small plates together, which were later X-ray tested and bend tested to gauge the quality of the weld in the joint. The following day, he was tasked with reading a set of blueprints and making a pressure vessel using plates. The pieces were then pressure tested, first using water pressure and then applying up to 1,000 psi of pressure.

On the final day of the competition, Boekestyn’s tig welding abilities were tested when he had to work with aluminum and stainless pieces.

Jeff Murrell, associate dean in the School of Trades, said facing off against more experienced welders-and finishing in the top three-is a testament to Boekestyn’s dedication to the trade and the “high quality of the educational experiences all our students receive in the welding program in the School of Trades.

“Typically, the trades sector of the Skills Competition for post-secondary institutions includes students who are in their third year of apprenticeship training; this means that Jake competed against competitors who actually weld for a living and have several years of welding experience behind them,” Murrell said.

“This bronze medal he achieved going up against professional welders speaks to the quality of student Jake is and the dedication and commitment to the program by not just Jake, but his support team in the faculty and staff in the weld shop: Vic Barker, Brendan Ryan and Bob Lukas. Very proud is an understatement.”

The Skills Canada National Competition is the only national multi-trade and technology event of its kind for young students and apprentices in the country. It’s intended to engage Canadian youth and promote careers in the skilled trades and technologies.

“Events like the Skills Canada National Competition encourage Canadian youth to explore and discover skilled trade and technology careers,” said Shaun Thorson, Chief Executive Officer, Skills/Compétences Canada. “We are proud of the accomplishments of this year’s competitors.”

Competitors are evaluated based on strict industry standards and medals are awarded to the top three in six skilled trade and technology sectors, including: transportation, construction, manufacturing and engineering, information technology, services and employment.