A Camosun student has once again taken home an award at a national event.
But third-year Plumbing and Pipe Trades student Kyle Horne isn’t on the Chargers. He recently competed in the Skills Canada National Competition—held in Winnipeg—and pushed aside all other competitors to come out with the gold medal in the steamfitter-pipefitter category.
Horne says that the competition is at its core a test of finesse between students from across Canada.
“They take competitors from each province from across the country in their own specialized trades, and we compete against each other,” says Horne. “Each year, they provide the same project for everyone. This year, our project was a steam heat exchanger that supplied a hot water heater and a steam supply unit heater. It’s basically a test of your skill and knowledge: how to read blueprints, fabrication of your piping, layout, and an all-around grasp of what we do on a daily basis on the job site.”
Horne also partook in some other competitions earlier this year and did well in all of them. Naturally, others took notice, and Horne soon found himself in the sights of the other competitors as a “high priority” target in the competitions.
“I had a target on my back simply because in our union, they do their own competition yearly,” he says. “It starts out provincial and then the winners of that represent their regions nationally. So the guys I competed against in Skills Canada, a couple of weeks earlier I had beat three or four of them in our skills competition that we held here at Camosun. There wasn’t any bad blood, but I already beat them in one skill set, so they didn’t want to lose again.”
Horne has been interested in steamfitting since high school. In addition to his studies at Camosun, he also works as an apprentice at a local plumbing and heating business. He says that this job has offered him some incredible opportunities so far.
“I was drawn to steamfitting simply because the money was the biggest draw for me and because I also like to work with my hands,” he says. “Out of high school, I took on another job, and it wasn’t until a little later on that I was able to pursue my interest. I’ve been blessed with some very good mentors, too.”