Grade 12 student Jude Bennett takes first place at Manitoba Skills competition
This year a Lord Selkirk Regional Comprehensive Secondary School student took home a huge prize from the Skills Manitoba competition. Jude Bennett won the gold medal in the Automobile Technology category.
Skills Manitoba is a non-profit organization that runs an annual competition where students compete in technology and trade categories.
“I was in the automotive technology competition, and there were six different stations, and we got 45 minutes at each station. So, there was an electrical station, a suspension station, an engine station, a driveline station, a diagnostic station, and a brake station,” said Bennett.
Bennett explained that during the competition time he had lots to do.
“At the electrical station, we had to wire a circuit from just a drawing. The engine station, we had to disassemble and reassemble a portion of an engine. In the driveline station, we had to calculate gear ratios and do an inspection of a driveline. The brake station, we had to assemble a disc brake assembly and a drum brake assembly. The diagnostic station, we had to scan and follow a flow chart and diagnose the code in the engine. On the suspension station, we had to balance a tire and check the front end, all the suspension components, and make sure they were all good,” he said.
These skills are impressive, but Bennett has been learning about automotive repair for a long time as he’s taken advantage of opportunities to gather experience.
“I live on a farm, so I was always working. Me and my dad, I’d pick up little things just helping him out. In the summer of Grade 9, I got a job at a local shop, X-pert Auto, and started working there. I learned a lot there, and then I started the automotive program in Grade 10, and learned a ton there, too, and I kind of just went from there,” he explained.
Bennett said that he was kind of shocked when he won the competition.
“They had an awards ceremony, and we were all just standing there, and they called out bronze, and they called out silver, and I honestly didn’t think I did anything too spectacular, so I was kind of disappointed. And then, they called Gold, and it was my name,” said Bennett.
To win a provincial competition like this one you have to really know your stuff and Bennett said that he enjoys the field.
“I enjoy solving problems and making something that doesn’t work, work again. Most of the people I’ve come across in this trade, seem to be really nice to talk to and really helpful,” he said.
From the automotive program at the high school specifically, Bennett said that he learned quite a bit.
“The technical aspect of it (and) the engine disassembly and reassembly, also the diagnostic part of it, like the scan tools we worked a lot on that,” he explained.
As for his future, despite the win, he’s still keeping his options open.
“I’m also in the welding program, so I’m thinking I might either stay in the trade or go and be a millwright or something along those lines,” he said.
Bennett’s teacher Lucas Macintosh said that he was happy to have been a small part in Bennett’s success and hopes that this win inspires other students to follow in his footsteps.
“It was a really great feeling to represent our school and our program and (I hope this win) inspires other students next year to see that it’s possible,” said Macintosh.
As for the next steps for Bennett in the competition, this win means that he’s going to be participating in the national competition in Regina, Sask. this week.
