More than 25,000 visitors are expected in Calgary, Alberta, from September 1 to 7 for the 40th WorldSkills Competition, an international event that will gather close to 1,000 competitors from 50 countries in a vast array of disciplines, including automotive collision repair and paint refinishing.
Harold Then (right) shows Daniel Green how
to polish water based paints for a better
match with the original colour.
Patrice Marcil, DuPont Canada National Training manager, Harold Then, trainer at Sait Polytechnic and Daniel Green, the car painting competitor for the upcoming WorldSkills Competitions in front of DuPont National Training Centre in Montreal.
The participants who reach this level of international competition have gone through a process similar to the one used in the Olympics. Most have won a regional, provincial, and national award in their category. 21 year-old Daniel Green from Drumheller, Alberta is one of them. It is most interesting to find out how he got interested in the field of auto body repair and car painting: “I was washing cars at Peterson Auto Body repair, a bodyshop nearby, and my employer asked me if I was interested to learn how to repair and paint damaged vehicles. I then enrolled into an apprenticeship program with Sait (Southern Alberta Institute of Technology) Polytechnic, a training centre that works in partnership with the industry, where I started learning more about this trade.”
The road to the top
For three years, Daniel alternately went from school (180 hours) to his sponsor’s shop (1,600 hours), always applying to his work what he had learned in the previous session. Then destiny intervened when someone at Sait noted that he had great potential and suggested his participation in the Skills/Compétences Canada Alberta competition. Daniel’s first experience with the organisation was in 2007, when he competed for auto body repair. He was then invited to compete again for car painting and took home the gold medal at the Skills/Compétences Canada Alberta Provincial Competition, as well as the gold medal at the 2008 Canadian Skills Competition.
Getting ready
When we met with Daniel, he was at the DuPont National Training Centre in Montreal, where his personal trainer, Harold Then, from Sait, helped him become better prepared for the competition by teaching him new techniques or improving those he hadn’t completely mastered yet. “Daniel has great potential and he is very skilled,” says Harold. “He is confident, shows determination, and has the right attitude. He spends about twenty hours a week, after his work or on weekends, to improve his aptitudes and put all the odds on his side.”
“I am eager to see where my skills are ranked, gaining experience, and meeting all the wonderful people from Canada and around the world,” adds Daniel.
38 Canadians will be travelling to Calgary to participate in 35 contest
areas and represent Canada at the 40th WorldSkills competition.
