SCA founding and current Board member Terry Cooke was awarded the Chairperson’s Award of Excellence at last night’s Alberta Apprenticeship and Industry Training Awards. Terry was awarded due to his immense contributions to Alberta’s apprenticeship and industry training system. We are thrilled to see Terry receive this honour, as he is an incredible leader and advocate for trade and technology education in the province. In addition to sitting on the Board of Directors for Skills Canada Alberta, Terry also serves on the Board of WorldSkills International. When asked to comment on receiving his award, Terry used his moment of recognition to focus on the success of Alberta’s training system as a whole: “It is a huge honor to be recognized by Alberta Apprenticeship and Industry Training in this manner because the apprenticeship system in this province is, without doubt, the best in North America. So when I compare my contribution to that of all the Board Chairs and members who have served over the years, the leadership of the folks at Advanced Education, NAIT and SAIT and all the other post-secondaries who have provided the most innovative yet rigorous programs and everyone at Skills Canada Alberta who have carried the message to our youth that ‘hands-on-learning’ is the foundation on which every community and career is built, frankly I find that incredibly humbling. On the other hand, if one, and only one, young person found their passion because of something I said or did – then everything over the last 30 years was worth it!” – Terry Cooke, Board Member Strategic Development, WorldSkills and Treasurer, WorldSkills Europe We extend a heartfelt congratulations to Terry, and as always, a thank you for his continuous dedication to improving trade and technology education in Alberta, Canada and around the globe.