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“Canada is facing a skilled labour shortage, and government is working to encourage Islanders to get trades training,” said Minister Campbell. “SkillsCanada competitions and the WorldSkills competition are excellent ways to get young people excited about the many well-paid career opportunities in the trades. Sue has shown a lot of dedication to these programs.”

The biannual WorldSkills competition involves 52 countries in 45 different trades and technologies. Young tradespeople compete on projects over four days. Team Canada is made up of competitors who have won provincial and national SkillsCanada competitions.

LeFort will work alongside a trainer from Ontario to help prepare Canada’s CNC competitor Tyler Hackney for the WorldSkills competition. LeFort and experts from 23 other countries will design a CNC Turning project to bring to London, where she will sit on the board that votes to decide which project will be used for the competition.

“Promoting careers in the trades to youth and working alongside tradespeople who have built their careers from the ground up, nationally and internationally, has been great,” says LeFort. “I found a career path that is fulfilling that allowed me to enjoy what I do after 25 years and still have many opportunities ahead of me.”

LeFort is a longtime SkillsCanada volunteer who received her Red Seal Endorsement as a machinist after studying at Holland College and worked in aerospace manufacturing for 25 years. In 2007, she travelled to Shizuoka, Japan, to train to become a shopmaster in CNC turning for Canada at the 2009 WorldSkills competition in Calgary.