Building skills on display

By Maureen Lamothe

lamo0164@algonquincollege.com

Hard work and dedication are paying off for Scott Blair.

At the ripe age of 21, the Algonquin graduate has already conquered the Ontario Skills competition and the Canadian Skills Competition. Next on his list is the WorldSkills International Competition, being held this September in Calgary.

After graduating from the carpentry apprenticeship program in 2007, he began competing in skills competitions across Canada. His success throughout the competitions has led him to where he is today - competing for Skills Canada in the 2009 WorldSkills event.

Along the way, Blair has to complete four testing points, where he does a simulation of the real competition and looks for areas of improvement. One was to build a gazebo in a four-day period during the Ottawa Home and Garden Show.

At a booth sponsored by Skills Canada and Algonquin College, Blair worked under pressure to complete the gazebo in 22 hours. The finished result was auctioned off at the end of the show with proceeds going to support Habitat for Humanity.

“I did my build in a bubble,” said Blair. “It was in a Plexiglas enclosure with 20 to 25 chairs in front.”

While most would be intimidated by the attention, the 21-year-old thrived under pressure. “I just focus out,” he said. “I’m just working on my project so I don’t even notice they’re there.”

Blair couldn’t really prepare because he only got the plans for the gazebo an hour before the event. “You can prepare somewhat,” he said. “But there’s always an element of surprise.”

This practice will come in handy for the WorldSkills Competition, where competitors will be given a rough drawing of the build three months prior, though 30 per cent of the plans will be changed before the event.

Carpentry is nothing new to Blair, who has had an avid interest since his Grade 9 shop class at Rideau District High School. “I started getting my own shop together at home,” he said. “That’s probably helped a lot, because I’m always out there working on something.”

Blair will continue to train hard for the next few months in preparation for the WorldSkills Competition; things are looking good for this skilled competitor.

“Things went really well this weekend,” said Blair. “I learned a few new things that I need to work on. I was pretty pleased with the final project.”