Rainbow students shine at provincial Skills competition

Seven students from Rainbow Schools who showcased their talents at the Skills Ontario Competition took home two silver and three bronze medals in aesthetics, heavy duty equipment, horticulture and landscape, and workplace safety.

Each year, Skills Ontario hosts Canada’s largest skilled trades competition, bringing together some 2,900 elementary, secondary and post-secondary students to compete in various trades.

“With hands-on opportunities inside and outside of the classroom, students in Rainbow Schools continue to excel in the trades,” said Bruce Bourget, Director of Education for the Rainbow District School Board. “We are proud of the students who earned the privilege of showcasing their abilities provincially.”

He added: “The students who captured top honours demonstrated that they are among the best in Ontario in their respective fields. Their success is a tribute to their hard work and the dedication of the teachers and partners who inspire them. The trades have been revitalized in Rainbow Schools, which bodes well for our future.”

2026 SKILLS ONTARIO MEDALISTS FROM RAINBOW SCHOOLS

ELEMENTARY

Workplace Safety
Silver
Lauren Musquetier and Ada Nicholls
Little Current Public School

SECONDARY

Aesthetics
Bronze
Hetvi Patel
Espanola High School

Heavy Duty Equipment
Bronze
Owen Fex
Confederation Secondary School

Horticulture and Landscape
Silver
Cowen Lachance and Brendan Spec
Lively District Secondary School

Workplace Safety
Silver
Esohe Aibangbee
Lockerby Composite School

Rainbow District School Board has made significant investments in technology education to support the growing need for skilled workers in all sectors, including new equipment, modernized shops, and more optional and advanced technology courses for students.

This aligns with the Ministry of Education’s efforts to modernize the skilled trades and apprenticeship programs, address shortages, and attract more of Ontario’s young people to the trades.

To give Grade 8 students an opportunity to experience the trades before secondary school, Rainbow District School Board launched the Think Trades Trailer in partnership with Lopes Limited and Coniston Industrial Park Ltd. The initiative opens pathways to exciting careers by inspiring students to consider the trades in secondary school and beyond.

Rainbow District School Board offers a variety of secondary programs in the skilled trades. Students can enrol in trades classes, the Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program (OYAP), which includes a co-op placement in a skilled trade, the Focused Apprenticeship Skills Training Program (FAST) – an accelerated specialized stream of OYAP, or Specialist High Skills Majors (SHSM) with a trades focus.

SHSMs are Ministry of Education approved programs that allow students to focus their learning on specific sectors while meeting the requirements of the Ontario Secondary School Diploma.

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Media Contact:

Nicole Charette, Senior Advisor,
Corporate Communications and Strategic Planning,
Rainbow District School Board, 705-674-3171, ext. 7217