Feature

Aaron Hebb of Bridgewater, Nova Scotia took home an international medal in car painting from across the pond. As part of Team Canada, Hebb traveled to London, England to represent our nation’s most skilled youth at the 2011 WorldSkills International competition, October 5 – 8. Team Canada was made up of 34 youth from across Canada; Hebb being one of four Canadian medalists.

Hebb earned his spot at WorldSkills by winning gold at the Skills Canada National Competition in 2010. As a champion in his trade, he took his skill to the next level and won a bronze medal in Car Painting among his international peers. This was first time a Nova Scotian competitor has received a medal at this global event.

Hebb notes that the WorldSkills competition was more than he expected. “Even though it was a huge, crowded venue filled with over 200,000 people, I was somehow able to focus on my competition and stay ‘in the zone’ each day.” Aside from his moment on the podium, he also notes that meeting people from all over the world was a definite highlight of the experience.

“Nova Scotia has some of the finest educational training in the country, and even the world for skilled trade and technology careers”, said Courtney Gouthro, Executive Director, Skills Canada – Nova Scotia. “We have seen Aaron’s dedication in preparing for WorldSkills, and are so proud of him and his coach Randy Sellars, for the countless hours of training they did over the past year to prepare for this once-in-a-lifetime event. In two short years, he’s gone from being an Nova Scotia Community College student, to an Apprentice; has won gold in both NS and at the Skills Canada National competition, and now holds a world title in his field of work.”

The mission of WorldSkills International is to challenge young people, their teachers, trainers and employers to achieve world class standards of competence in commerce, services and industry, and to promote the status of vocational training.