For two Yellowknife students, last month’s Skills Canada National Competition was their second national video production contest this month.
On May 3, Sir John Franklin High School students Braeden Cordero and Markus Cluff placed first in Skills Canada NWT’s territorial competition in Yellowknife.
Around the same time, they also placed first in the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety’s national youth video competition after winning the Workers’ Safety and Compensation Commission’s (WSCC) territorial contest.
But the Skills Canada competition, held in Halifax over May 28-29 this year, presented a whole new set of challenges.
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“We had about a week or so to prepare for the WSCC contest,” explained Cordero. “So we were in no rush.
“But as we had seven hours to complete this one, it became a lot more of a task.”
That was on day one of the competition – day two proved even more challenging as teams from each province and territory were given just four hours to film and edit a short video.
The first day, their video had to show how trades and technologies are viable careers, and teams were notified of the topic the night before so they could start preparing ideas.
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But on the second day, teams arrived in the morning and were given their theme at start time: “top five …”
Team NT chose to highlight the “top five pins” that were brought by different contingents.
Despite agreeing the competition was stressful, Cordero and Cluff had a great time on the East Coast.
“I’m just super, super grateful to be here,” said Cluff. “We’re making videos and having a good time.”
‘Workplace Spook’
On May 7, the WSCC announced Cordero and Cluff’s video “Workplace Spook” had won the territorial competition and was part of a three-way tie national win.
They received $2,000 in the national competition – and another $2,000 for their school. These cash prizes followed $1,000 for them and $1,000 for Sir John Franklin in the territorial competition.
“The contest is a fantastic way to engage young people in workplace safety, and we are impressed with how this team created such a memorable video,” said Barb Heming, a WSCC senior occupational health and safety inspector and one of the territorial judges for the competition.
“Their message about workers’ rights will appeal to employers, and workers of all ages.”
