Carpentry Apprentice Prepares to Compete Nationally Following Gold Medal Ontario Win

Posted on Tuesday, May 12th, 2015

Algonquin College students took home five medals from the annual Skills Ontario competition – among them, Carpentry gold medalist Matthew Scharf. He will be competing against Canada’s best next month in Saskatoon.

(Ottawa, May 12, 2015) May is a time both to celebrate and to prepare for Algonquin College Carpentry Apprentice Matthew Scharf. Scharf recently took home a gold medal in Carpentry at the Ontario Technology Skills Competition (OTSC), and has earned the right to compete nationally at Skills Canada National Competition in Saskatoon on May 27 – 30.

“We’re proud of all students and apprentices who competed on behalf of Algonquin College at the Ontario Technology Skills Competition,” says Cheryl Jensen, President of Algonquin College and Past Chair of Skills Canada – Ontario. “This important competition demonstrates the value of applied learning and gives those attending college a chance to test their skills against their peers before entering the job market. Algonquin historically does well at this competition, and we look forward to seeing Matthew’s performance at the national level. A job well done!”

“I am really proud of how things turned out with the competition,” adds Scharf. “I think I had a different approach than the other students and it certainly seemed to pay off in the end. Now I have to switch gears and focus on the Nationals.”

Of the 19 entrants from Algonquin College, five came away from the competition with medals in various streams:

  • Matthew Scharf – Gold in Carpentry
  • Matt Polson – Silver in Cabinetmaking
  • Jordan Biggs – Silver in Truck & Coach Mechanic
  • Mitch Rosborough – Bronze in Truck & Coach Mechanic
  • Kelly Johnson – Silver in Culinary Arts

Scharf is one of 40 students moving on from the Ontario-level competition to the National competition at the end of May.

The OTSC is Canada’s largest skilled trades competition, and one of the largest competitions of its kind in North America. With over 67 contests and 2,000 high school, college, and apprenticeship-level competitors, OTSC draws in over 20,000 spectators each year.

Algonquin College previously won the 2013 Carpentry OSTC competition – that apprentice, Cody Malloch, also went on to compete nationally at Skills Canada. He won that competition, and then competed in the 2013 WorldSkills international competition.


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