L-580 apprentice Jared Cloutier with his gold and silver medals.
Jared Cloutier earns silver and gold medals in Canadian contests
JARED CLOUTIER, 22, a third-year apprentice out of Local 580 (Halifax, Nova Scotia), has been testing his welding skills in provincial and national contests, earning a gold medal at the Nova Scotia Skill Competition on April 29 and a silver medal at the Canadian Skills Competition in Waterloo, Ontario, May 21-22.
“Jared is a very mature apprentice,” reports L-580 BM-ST Yves Fournier. “He’s got tremendous skill in the trade, he’s very observant of the senior welders, and everyone in our work center enjoys working with him.”
Local 580 members are very proud of Jared, said L-580 Pres. Bob Fish. “To my knowledge, he is the only apprentice from Local 580 to compete in the skills competitions and have the success he achieved,” said Fish.
According to Cloutier, the competitions were “very stressful, but [it was] enjoyable meeting welders from all across Canada.”
The provincial competition, held at the Nova Scotia Community College – Akerley campus in Dartmouth, included welding projects on aluminum, stainless steel, and mild steel, with time limits ranging from 90 minutes to three hours.
The national competition included one participant from each Canadian province and territory. The test projects used the same materials and welding procedures as the provincial contest, but with longer time limits due to the more complex drawing requirements.
International Vice President for Eastern Canada Edward Power said, “Local 580 has a proud history of hard-working trades people, and Jared Cloutier’s gold and silver medals are a fine example of this.” He said Local 580 members should also take a bit of credit for Jared’s medals because of “the magnificent example they provide to the apprentices.”
The contests were sponsored by Skills Canada, a national, not-for-profit organization that works with employers, labour unions, and governments to promote skilled trades and technology careers among Canadian youth.
Chartered in 1927, Local 580 represents workers at commercial and federal shipyards.
