Former Skills Canada President shares how the Skills Movement in Alberta began

In honour of Skills Canada Alberta’s 20th anniversary in 2012, we asked former Skills Canada President Terry Cooke to share his insight on the history of the Skills Movement in our province. Terry was instrumental in bringing Skills Competitions to Alberta nearly 20 years ago and continues to be a vocal supporter of the Skills Movement in our province, in Canada, and around the world.

“Skills Canada began in Barrie, Ontario in 1988 when group of dedicated people recognized the need to address skill shortages in the trades and the lack of interest by young people to consider the Skilled Trades and Technologies as a viable career option,” said Terry.

The group worked hard to gain industry support, secure government funding, and set up local, Olympic-style competitions as a way to promote the many benefits of jobs in the Skilled Trades and Technologies. Ontario held its first provincial Skills Competition in 1990.

Recognizing the success of the competitions in Ontario, Skills Canada leaders began seeking participation from other provinces, including Quebec, B.C. and Alberta.

“There was a lot of interest in Alberta, along with a strong feeling among the members of our Steering Committee that the private sector was missing from the table, and that business and industry would have to be engaged if this venture was to be successful,” said Terry, who worked as a teacher and principal before joining NAIT where he was the Dean of NAIT’s School of Business until his retirement. He felt the technical education component was missing from the Alberta school system and decided to try post-secondary education to explore ways to help fill that gap. 

“In the late 80s, NAIT was experiencing severe drops in enrolments in engineering technology programs and was seeking a vehicle to promote technical education to the school system,” explained Terry. “That’s when we heard about Skills Canada as it existed in Ontario and we felt Alberta could benefit from such an organization.”

On August 12, 1992, after a year of work by the Steering Committee, Skills Canada Alberta officially opened its doors. From there, it continued to grow, further funding was secured, and more supporters signed on. 

In the beginning, Skills Canada Alberta was a volunteer-driven organization with a lot of hands-on activity at the Board level. As the organization grew, so did the number of staff, and today the Board provides strategic rather than operational leadership.

But one thing that hasn’t changed is the mission of Skills Canada Alberta – to promote Skilled Trades and Technologies as a first-choice career option for young Albertans.

“Careers in the Skilled Trades and Technologies allow young people to learn and grow as employees, contribute to the economy, remain debt-free in their early years, and gain a skill set and work ethic that enables them to work across Canada or in other countries if they choose to,” said Terry. 

National and provincial economic circumstances could explain why more people are listening to the Skills message and taking notice, he added.

“It was recently reported that over the next decade, the number of Alberta workers age 55 and older will increase to more than one million. That’s more than 25 per cent of the total workforce, according a recent report by the Alberta government. By 2019, the workforce shortage across all industries will be about 77,000 workers,” he said.

Skills Canada Alberta hopes some of these jobs will be filled by Alberta’s youth who have participated in Skills Competitions and want to learn more about careers in the Skilled Trades and Technologies.

Terry recently attended the WorldSkills 2011 competition in London where he was part of the Leaders Forum that talked about encouraging youth to develop workplace skills to ensure future economic and social success. He was also a Board Director for WorldSkills Calgary 2009. 

“Skills Competitions at all levels help raise the profile of Skilled Trades and Technologies by showcasing these industries and creating excitement among today’s youth,” said Terry. “For nearly two decades, Skills Canada Alberta has done an excellent job in helping young Albertans explore careers in the Skilled Trades and Technologies, and I look forward to the organization’s work ahead.”