Lakeland College is celebrating a milestone achievement after Logan Peters became the institution's first apprentice to compete at WorldSkills where he earned a medal against some of the world's top young skilled trades professionals. For Peters, competing for Team Canada in Shanghai, China, was the final step in a journey that started with Skills Alberta in high school and ended on the world stage.

“Competing at WorldSkills was a once-in-a-lifetime experience,” says Peters. “This whole process really helped hone my skills and build my confidence. It was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done and I grew so much.”

Peters first began his experience competing at Skills competitions in high school, where he won gold provincially in the carpentry category before placing third nationally. Once he moved on to post-secondary, he competed again with Lakeland, earning a place on Team Canada. He and his teammates headed to Shanghai for four days of competition against 1,400 champions from nearly 70 countries in 64 different skills areas. Gold, silver and bronze medals were presented to the top performers in each skill and Medals for Excellence were awarded to competitors who displayed world-class standards, like Peters.

“Watching Logan compete at WorldSkills was inspirational,” says Dave King, dean of Lakelands School of Trades and Technology, who accompanied Peters to China. “To see him take on the top carpentry apprentices in the world and come home with a Medal for Excellence is a testament to the hard work he put in, the strength of those who supported him and the value of an education in the trades. I’m incredibly proud of him. It’s a huge accomplishment.”

Peters spent months preparing for WorldSkills. He practiced on weekends with his carpentry instructor and trainer David Jones, guided by Paul Bettio, Team Canada expert and carpentry instructor with NAIT. Peters also worked full-time during the week, with the support of his employer who made sure he had the training time he needed. Knowing he would be judged on his precision, safe work practices and accuracy, all within a tight timeframe, Peters studied projects from previous WorldSkills competitions and worked on his techniques.

“If you like to stand back at the end of the day and look at what you’ve made, carpentry is a good trade for that,” Peters says. “That’s the real reward at the end of the day.”

This is the first time Lakeland has had a competitor advance to WorldSkills with Team Canada. This year, 11 Lakeland students competed in Skills Alberta. Braden Kereliuk captured his second consecutive gold medal, moved on the Skills Canada, and won gold there as well. Over the past eight years, Lakeland apprentices have earned 19 Alberta Skills Canada competition medals.

Lakeland’s School of Trades and Technology offers apprenticeship training in automotive service technician, carpenter, electrician, heavy equipment technician, parts technician, steamfitter-pipefitter and welder. The school also offers pre-employment training in automotive service technician, carpentry, electrician and welding.