DSBN TECHNOLOGY

About Skills Challenges

Countdown to the DSBN Technological Skills Competition
throughout Niagara:

Participation in the DSBN Skills Challenges provides students with the opportunity to represent their schools and to test their skills against students from across the district.

By participating in the challenges, students will have the opportunity to explore careers in the skilled trades and technologies by completing industry-related projects, using industry-standard equipment and adhering to industry regulations. Challenges will be judged by industry mentors, who will provide students with valuable feedback and the opportunity to make important industry contacts.

Gold medalists from the DSBN Skills Challenges will advance to the Ontario Technological Skills Competition (OTSC). Gold medalists at the provincial contest will become part of Team Ontario, and will have the opportunity to compete at the Canada Skills Competition (CSC). In 2009, the CSC will be held in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island!

Learn more about Skills Canada

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Student Feedback on the Challenges

What do participants in the DSBN Skills Challenges think about the competitions? Here's what you told us:

"I liked how hard you have to work in the competition and seeing afterwards what you have finished."
"It was fun and challenging at the same time."
"I think it's a great opportunity to see the pressures of the real world, to meet new people and learn new skills...and it's always a fun time."
"The judges were awesome. I appreciated all the help from them."
"The judging was helpful and fair. I learned a lot!"

Learn New Skills!
96% of students said that they learned new skills through participating in the DSBN Skills Challenges!

Train Like a Champion!
100% of DSBN Gold medalists said that they trained regularly or spent several extra sessions training for the challenges.

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Competitor Eligibility

In order to participate in the secondary school level DSBN Skills Challenges, students must meet the following criteria:

Attend a DSBN secondary school
Possess Canadian citizenship or landed immigrant status and Ontario residency
Be less than 22 years of age as of December 31 in the competition year
Be enrolled in a subject related to the area of the contest in which they will compete, OR have completed a senior level course in that subject area and/or co-operative education placement related to their contest area
Have been earning high school credits any time during the current school year
Complete the online registration process in full within the designated time frame
Complete and submit the DSBN Consent and Release form
Students enrolled in OYAP (Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program) will be considered secondary level students as long as the other requirements are met

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Skills Challenges Rules & Regulations

SCOPES AND MARKING CRITERIA

Every competitor should be given equal opportunity to access pre-competition information. All skill areas should release a scope well in advance of the competition complete with detailed expectations and marking criteria. The scope will be made available on this website to allow all competitors access and to promote an equal and consistent understanding of what is expected from them prior to the start of the contest. All students in a given contest will be judged in an equal manner, regardless of the judge marking their project.

All judges must be sent a copy of the DSBN Challenge scope and marking scheme prior to the contest date. Challenge coordinators must ensure that the judges are familiar with and understand the criteria prior to the start of the challenge.

JUDGING

Judges for all DSBN Skills Challenges must be impartial representatatives from industry or post-secondary educational facilities. Judges must come from an industry or post-secondary education faculty directly related to the contest area. Participation as a judge is on a voluntary basis.

Members of DSBN subject networks may recommend judges for specific contests. All judge recommendations or concerns must be expressed to the subject network well in advance of the start of the DSBN Skills Challenges. In the event that there are too many names submitted, or an impartial decision must be made regarding judges or judging, the matter will be decided by the DSBN Skills Development Coordinator and/or Technological Consultant.

Any communication or assistance provided by a judge to a given competitor during a contest must be equally available to all competitors, so that there is no bias or unfair advantage.

In the event of a tie, the judges of the contest will make a decision. There may be only one winner for each of the Gold, Silver and Bronze medals.

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Job Interview Component

Along with the trade and technical skills our competitors excel in, soft skills are also necessary to become a valued employee in any organization. To assist our competitors in preparing for their eventual job searches, a job interview component is included in ALL CONTESTS FOR 2009, WORTH 5% OF THE COMPETITOR’S FINAL MARK. This is also a requirement for the Provincial Level Competition (OTSC).

Students will be expected to come to the competition with a prepared résumé and be ready to answer interview questions related to the technical career path their contest reflects. It is vital that students are informed of this component so they may properly prepare.

JOB INTERVIEW RESOURCES:

Skills Canada-Ontario (www.skillsontario.com)
This website provides sample questions for the job interview component as well as interview and resume tips.

Job Gym (www.jobgym.com)
At Job Gym, they are "committed to assisting individuals in identifying and reaching their employment goals". Job Gym will present to groups at local high schools and also provide individual job counselling to assist students with résumé preparation, interview skills, employability skills and more.

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DSBN Regional Skills Challenges

Dates and Times

DSBN Regional Challenges

The date for each DSBN Regional Challenge will be listed beside the corresponding profile listed in the left-side menu. Times and agendas will be posted within the challenge scope, or as soon as information becomes available.

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Registration Information

Registration for the 2009 challenges is open as of December 2008.

After submitting the online registration form, students will be prompted to download the Parent/Guardian Consent and Release Form.

In order to complete their registration, students must submit all of the information requested on the the online form AND submit their signed Consent and Release form.

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Challenge Profiles & Scopes

Past and current scopes for DSBN Regional Competitions will be posted under each challenge profile as soon as they become available. The profiles can be accessed by clicking on the challenge name in the left-side menu.

Qualifying, Provincial and National Scopes can be downloaded from the links listed below.

Provincial Level Scopes and Information

Provincial Challenges (Ontario Technological Skills Competition)
DSBN Regional Gold Medal Winners will advance to the OTSC. The 20th OTSC will be held at RIM Park in Waterloo on May 4-6, 2009.

For more information, please visit: Skills Canada-Ontario

Download 2008 Provincial Consent Form (pdf)

PROVINCIAL LEVEL SCOPES:

>2008 Provincial Scopes

>2007 Provincial Scopes

>2006 Provincial Scopes

Qualifying Competitions for Regional Winners
Regional winners may be required to compete in Qualifying Competitions in order to advance to the OTSC.

The 5th Annual Qualifying Competitions will be held at Niagara College on April18, 2009. More information will be provided as it is received.

The following 6 areas will be required to participate:

Carpentry – Individual
Culinary Arts
2D Character Animation
Small Powered Equipment
T.V. Video Production (Team of 2)
Welding
Precision Machining

>2008 Qualifying Scopes

>2008 National Level Scopes

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Elementary Challenges

4 - 6 Lego Robotics
Date: Friday, February 5, 2009
Time: 8:30am
Location: Lakeport Secondary School
Contact Person: Leonard Aylward

Up to 8 teams (of 4 students) who enter the Robolab Robotics Challenge will compete in a one day challenge to test their knowledge of sensors, structures and computer programming. The format for this year’s competition will be a robotics challenge using Robolab/Mind storms Lego robotics and software. Teams of four students from schools across DSBN will have an opportunity to compete with one another in a friendly environment, demonstrating their creative, collaborative and problem-solving skills in solving an open-ended challenge.