Golden girl of skills Rianne Bouma

Raised on a farm, Rianne Bouma has learned to be safety-minded, can fix machinery and do an oil change. At school, she has studied woodwork, welding and auto service technology. At her 4-H club, she has acquired public speaking skills.

Combine those gifts and it is a safe bet the 17-year-old will excel in a national skills competition.

So it proved when the Barrhead Composite High School student won gold for Workplace Safety in the 19th Skills Canada National Competition in Vancouver, B.C.

Seen as the “Olympics of Skills,” the June 5-8 event saw 500 young Canadians test their abilities in more than 40 trades and technology categories.

Rianne was one of three BCHS students competing for Team Alberta. The others were Emma Van Loon and Clara Filbert.

Emma finished fifth in the Job Search/Interview contest, while Clara also placed fifth in the Post Secondary Hair Styling competition.

“It was probably the most memorable time of my life,” said Rianne last Wednesday. “The members of the team became like a family. In course of a few days I became friends with complete strangers.

“The whole experience was amazing. I would do it again if I had the chance.”

Dan Sribney, teacher at BCHS automotive department, said Rianne, Emma and Clara had done the community proud.

“They were tremendous student ambassadors for the school, Barrhead and Team Alberta,” he said.

In the nationals, Rianne competed against nine others in Workplace Safety.

The contest was in three parts: a 45-minute theory quiz, a hazard assessment test, including an inspection of mock workplaces, and a safety presentation.

“I actually found the provincial competition harder than the nationals,” Rianne said.

Her 4-H experience helped her shine in the oral presentation, which required her to look at a picture of a man operating a circular saw and articulate what hazards were being ignored.

“I’ve got used to public speaking,” she said. “I feel much more confident in front of strangers than I do with those I know.”

It is a character trait which explains why Sribney kept out of sight during the presentation before several judges.

“She is normally a very outgoing and confident person,” he said.

Started in 1994, the Skills Canada National Competition is the only national, multi-trade and technology competition for young students and apprentices in the country.

It provides an opportunity for young Canadians studying a skilled trade or technology to be tested against exacting standards and against their peers from across the region.

One of the memories Rianne will take away from the event will be meeting Mike Holmes, the Skills/Competences Canada Official Spokesperson and well known as the host of TV’s Holmes on Homes in which he rescues people from renovations gone wrong.

“Now more than ever Canada needs experienced skilled trades people,” wrote Holmes in a brochure on the competition. “We need people who care about what they do and make it right. These competitions are a great way to introduce the trades to youth, and to provide them with information they will use for the rest of their lives.”

Despite her golden moment, Rianne is not thinking of a career in automotive technology. Instead, she wants to study B.Sc. of Biochemistry or Biological Science major with chemistry minor at the University of Alberta.

In the longer-term, she would like to be a lab researcher or doctor dealing with blood work analysis.