WorldSkills Competition 2022 Special Edition

For only the third time in its 72-year history, WorldSkills will have a presence in Canada with its selection of Sheridan’s Magna Skilled Trades Centre in Brampton as host of its Industrial Mechanics (IM) event in the WorldSkills Competition 2022 Special Edition. The college will welcome country and region representatives, including nine competitors, from around the world, to its Davis Campus from October 17 to 21.

WorldSkills is the largest and most influential skills competition in the world. Every two years, young people compete to earn the title of world champion in their skill area. Participants take a grueling route to reach WorldSkills, succeeding at multiple levels of competition with the national champions earning the right to represent their country on the world stage.

WorldSkills Competition 2022 Special Edition is the official replacement for WorldSkills Shanghai 2022, which was cancelled in May due to the pandemic. Over a 12-week span from September 7–November 6, 62 skills competitions will be held in 15 countries and regions across the world. The Industrial Mechanics event is the only one that will be contested in Canada and one of three in North America.

Craig Brazil, professor and coordinator of the Industrial Mechanics and Millwright (IMM) program at Sheridan, has been instrumental in securing the host opportunity and integral to the IM competition’s involvement and success at WorldSkills. For seven years he worked to have the competition recognized on the world stage, and it was finally introduced in 2015. In 2015 and 2016 he served as WorldSkills' IM Chief Expert and since 2017 as the IM Skills Competition Manager.

Brazil describes Industrial Mechanics as “doctors of industry.” In manufacturing and production facilities, they're the first to be called when something goes wrong with a piece of equipment; diagnosing the situation to determine whether it’s an electrical or mechanical issue. IMs are involved in all sorts of industry as the equipment with which they work is responsible for creating shoes, clothes, food, vehicles and much more.

Some highlights for the Sheridan-hosted WorldSkills IM competition:

Opening ceremonies (by invitation only): October 17 | 8–9 p.m.

• Sponsored by Unifor, with government officials and other notable guests
• Location: Magna Skilled Trades Centre, Davis Campus (Brampton)

Competition days open for public viewing: October 18–20 | 9 a.m.–5 p.m.

Skills Ontario Trades and Tech Truck: October 18–20 | 9 a.m.–3 p.m.

• A mobile unit of fun experiential learning with activities and simulators where youth can explore skilled trades and technologies in a unique and hands-on way.
• Location: Sheridan Davis Campus parking lot

Closing ceremony (by invitation only): October 21 | 8 p.m.–9 p.m.

• Sponsored by Magna, with medal presentations.
• Location: Windsor Ballroom – Marriot Hotel, 90 Biscayne Crescent, Brampton, Ontario

Media contact

Keiko Kataoka
Manager, Communications and Public Relations
keiko.kataoka@sheridancollege.ca