The CWB Association Welding Podcast
The CWB Association Welding Podcast
Skills Canada Series -Season 3 - Episode 1 with Maria Pacella
The CWB Association is thrilled to collaborate with Skills/Compétences Canada on a special podcast series. This year, we are excited to interview the Skills Canada Executive Directors from across Canada. Tune in as we explore their skills journey and commitment to promoting skilled trades in their provinces and territories!
Maria Pacella's remarkable 20-year journey as Executive Director of Skills Canada Manitoba offers powerful insights into building pathways for young people to discover careers they never imagined. From her unexpected transition from politics to skills development, Maria has witnessed a profound shift in how society values the trades. When she began, schools reluctantly allowed Skills Manitoba to promote trades education. Today, those same institutions actively seek their guidance, recognizing that trades offer students viable, rewarding career options.
Website: www.skillsmanitoba.ca
Follow Skills/Compétences Canada:
Website: https://www.skillscompetencescanada.com/en/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/SkillsCanadaOfficial
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/skillscompetencescanada/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/skills_canada
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/skillscanada
There is no better time to be a member! The CWB Association membership is new, improved, and focused on you. We offer a FREE membership with a full suite of benefits to build your career, stay informed, and support the Canadian welding industry. https://www.cwbgroup.org/association/become-a-member
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All right, I check, check. Good, so I'm Max Duran. Max Duran, cwb Association Welding Podcast, podcast podcast. Today we have a really cool guest welding podcast. The show is about to begin. Hello and welcome to another edition of the CWB Association Podcast. Today we are here in beautiful, sunny Regina, saskatchewan, for Skills National Competition. This program and this episode is a part of a series that we're going to be doing all week here in Regina with all the executive directors of the provinces and territories of Canada. I've been excited for this. Last year we did the NAC, the year before that we did all the PTCs, and now we have a whole other group of people that we're going to get their experiences from. Today I have Maria Pacella from Manitoba here with me. And how are you doing, maria?
Speaker 2:Doing fantastic, loving the sunshine.
Speaker 1:Yeah, how has the week been so far? Great.
Speaker 2:Yes, We've come with a team of 62 young people from post-secondary and secondary schools for Manitoba and about 35 advisors chaperones that accompany them. They've had a fabulous time. We came by bus, oh.
Speaker 1:I guess You're only five hours away.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we're five hours away. I mean, I think it's the best decision we've ever made.
Speaker 1:Way cheaper.
Speaker 2:Way cheaper.
Speaker 1:And you get to be comrades on the bus.
Speaker 2:Absolutely, and we just loved it. Yeah, everybody did. And I mean it took us what five and a half hours door to door, as opposed to spending umpteen hours in an airport. Getting nervous, getting nervous and you know, having to change flights and yeah, it was perfect, it was a.
Speaker 1:You've got a big group. Yeah, we do Like a hundred.
Speaker 2:We have a hundred people. We always travel. We do have a very big group, yeah.
Speaker 1:Now in Manitoba. It's a big province with a smaller population, a lot like Saskatchewan right Now. How is it like to coordinate that much space, school systems, areas? As a director for skills, because I mean lots of the bigger centers like Ontario. They break it into pieces. They've got millions of people.
Speaker 2:Right, but for us out here out west.
Speaker 1:It's a little bit more tricky. It's a little more tricky.
Speaker 2:Well, first of all, I have the most amazing staff, the best in the country.
Speaker 1:Kudos.
Speaker 2:So we actually have a superb network with our school system and we are, I believe, very respected. We have a fabulous relationship. It works both ways. We've developed the North. So one of my staff and I, many years ago, went up north and started developing programs and then we were successful with Manitoba Apprenticeship to get a position up north. So we've had a really good relationship with our provincial government and, of course, as you know, we're all federally funded as well.
Speaker 2:So, great partnership in my community and kudos to both the province and the federal government for giving us an opportunity to expand. So I think that that has helped us reach the north and last year we had three northern gold medalists, which is a first. That's wild, and that's because we've been up there doing programs, we've been up there introducing them to the trades Finding those gems, finding those gems, and we have the staff person who go into remote communities, and so, yeah, we're really proud of our Manitoba programs.
Speaker 1:And quick shout out to the PAW in the northern areas of Manitoba right now.
Speaker 2:Yes, very sad that are going through the forest fires, so I hope everyone's safe.
Speaker 1:I hope all the the competitors families here are doing all right and safe because that's scary out here out west our forest fires are are no jokes so, yes, we, we wish them all well, we're praying for them, that's right now for yourself. You know, maria? Um, actually I got a question that just popped off the top of my head maria picella, is that spanish? What is?
Speaker 2:italian. It's italian. Oh, we got another italian here. Okay, yes, yeah, so so I was born in Manitoba. My parents came over from Italy in the late 50s.
Speaker 1:Yeah, Cool, and now you're coming into skill.
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 1:That's always, and I've met people over the years. It can be from a variety of different areas. A variety of different areas.
Speaker 2:Yes, I would never have known that I would be. My fascination was always politics.
Speaker 2:So, I'm actually a graduate of U of M social work, but I didn't spend too much time there. I actually spent most of my time in the political arena, first provincially with the NDP government in the mid to late 80s late 80s and loved that, loved the community building, loved working with people, found that to be my passion. Then I went off and stayed home with my family and had children and after that I found myself back into the federal political arena. Anyways, all fun, fantastic, great people I worked with. And then things changed politically and I found myself looking for a new position and someone led me to skills. They thought I had the transferable skills to work with skills and I haven't turned back. I haven't been anywhere that long.
Speaker 1:You're saying almost 20 years.
Speaker 2:Next year is 20 years and I usually do two to four year stints, so this has been my longest stint and I'm loving every minute.
Speaker 1:At this point, do you think you're ever going to get away?
Speaker 2:I don't know. I really. I mean, I keep telling people I don't know like. I'm loving it. I'm still enjoying it. I love working with young people. I've seen the growth and development in our own province when I first started almost 20 years ago. Well, 20 years ago we had the skills competition, which was amazing and it's still going strong. It was really well established. We have a fabulous partner in Red River College. They're an amazing. All our colleges are amazing, but they're our premier partner.
Speaker 2:Very, uh, very ambitious college very ambitious college and we've been working with them and they've been hosting our event for over 27 years.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:So without them we wouldn't be as good as we are. So, uh, and a kudos to their other colleges MITT and. Assiniboine community college and university college of the North as well, because they're huge partners as well. But so our expansion has been due to the great partnerships. I mean, we were a small staff. We're eight staff. When I first started there was three of us, so over the years we've been able to develop eight to nine strong and solid staff and who are active every day. We're all across the province.
Speaker 1:We work in.
Speaker 2:Thompson the province. Yeah, we work in Thompson the PAW, I mean, you name it. We're there and we're strong in rural Manitoba as well as Winnipeg. Our tri-trade events are fabulous. Very well attended Very well attended and some of our most popular, other than the competition. We're 500 competitors strong. We've always maintained that strength, I have to say, for the last 27 years and I think we're getting stronger and I I see the increase in participation over the years um and our young women's conferences.
Speaker 2:We're really proud of them we have, uh, over 10 of them across the province.
Speaker 1:they're're very popular and, yes, so, and we're seeing it, and that's not just like a big push now.
Speaker 2:It's a need, it's a necessity, it's a necessity, and I remember it's hard to get statistics. As you know, there's a lot of privacy issues right. We're not allowed to find out what kids do and how they where they move on to, but anecdotally, we've been told by colleges that they do see an increase in women going into the trades. And we'd like to take some credit for that for introducing the young women.
Speaker 1:We just went and introduced the welders this morning as part of our yearly ritual. We always talk to the welders in the morning, kind of pump them up, and we saw five women in the women for welding, which was the most. We commented this is the most women we've seen come to the provincial competition or national competition and that's good but still not enough.
Speaker 2:Not enough, not enough. We've got to keep working at it. That's right.
Speaker 1:Now for yourself to come into the role of ED for skills. There's kind of a couple ways that you either have a really good trades background or you're really good at managing people, because so much of this job is really connections, community being out there. Now your political background lines up with that perfectly and that's why I was hired.
Speaker 2:It was for that and I have to say again, with the strength of my amazing staff, it is a strength. And so we've been able to build really strong. When we first started, I had I think I'm going to say maybe three, four or five sponsors. We're probably close to a hundred sponsors.
Speaker 1:Good.
Speaker 2:So we're very well respected. We have good, good relationships with our people and they like what we do.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And uh, we, we like to think that, uh, you know, we sort of produce what people expect and the staff are very passionate and committed, each and every one of them, and uh, so I'm really proud of them.
Speaker 1:How's the relationship with apprenticeship in Manitoba? Because I think nationally Manitoba sometimes gets looked at as a lower apprenticeship province. It's got lower numbers of Red Seals coming out of it. It's got a less number of available Red Seal programs. But you know, you're on the inside, you work with trades every day. You know how do you see that relationship building?
Speaker 2:side. You work with the trades every day. You know how do you see that relationship building. Well, I have to say, with skills, manitoba um, we have a great relationship with, with apprenticeship. We're really proud of it. Uh, we had a lesser uh relationship 20 years ago but over the last 20 years it's really built an increase where we have a really good sort of we work together a lot, we do a lot of programs together and they do support what we're doing.
Speaker 2:They have us, we do our in-school program and they actually have us deliver it on their behalf. So they really do support us and we actually do two events for them the awards of distinction and highest achievement awards. They've designated and delegated those events that are their events for us to organize. So I think that shows the mutual respect and we really do appreciate them. And there's been a lot of change in apprenticeship, as there is in every province but I think it's getting stronger and stronger. And Skills Manitoba has an amazing relationship with them.
Speaker 1:It does Good. Now what about the students in the colleges, these programs that are coming up? We have a chapter, so we have chapters across Canada. As an association, we have a strong chapter in Winnipeg and many of our chapter members are at MIT Red.
Speaker 2:River College.
Speaker 1:They're all teachers, instructors, even that very large high school program. There's a welding high school. Oh, I don't remember right now TechVoc.
Speaker 2:Yeah, toby works there. Toby works there yeah.
Speaker 1:And uh, toby's our chair in in in Manitoba.
Speaker 2:Toby's amazing.
Speaker 1:That's right so these relationships and Toby was going to be here but he actually let someone else come because he's like you know, I've been to a hundred of and that relationship, that community building, is exactly why the CWB works with skills. Yes, right, because we kind of live in the same realm.
Speaker 2:Yes, and you've supported a lot of our camps over the years in which we've really appreciated and Toby's worked with you on camps on our behalf for the summer, as well as in Northern Manitoba. So we've always appreciated Nate and Welding Bureau because they've been there for us.
Speaker 1:Now let's talk about the competitors. Yes, appreciated native welding bureau, because they've been there for us. Now let's talk about the competitors. Yeah, 62 competitors here. Which are the? How many of those are coming in? Gold medalists, like? How many of?
Speaker 2:these are. It's a world's year, right, it's a world's year, yeah, so it's uh. Well, we, we uh try to make sure we have a lot that are age eligible for worlds because you know there's an age restriction of under 22, I believe yeah and uh yeah, so they're all gold medalists in Manitoba.
Speaker 1:So they're hoping to become national. Any other second term though, because there is a two-year cycle. I think there is a couple of them, yeah.
Speaker 2:I don't know precisely which ones, but there are a couple of them and yeah, so Manitoba usually does okay. We usually, I would say we usually get about one to two Team.
Speaker 1:Canada Team.
Speaker 2:Canada we usually get about one to two Team.
Speaker 1:Canada Team Canada yeah, which is great. Yeah, absolutely, and so I've been fortunate to go to all of them, which are the stronger ones, which are the ones where it's always, like you always know, manitou's going to take that one.
Speaker 2:Well, we're usually strong in the construction trades.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Good.
Speaker 2:Rickling has always been a strength of ours. Those are sort of the areas that are ours.
Speaker 1:And do you get to go to Worlds?
Speaker 2:Yes, I do I mean I've been to all of them.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yes, I don't get to go to all of them. I got to go to them when I worked with Skills Right, but now that I'm at CWB, I'm trying my hardest to get them to. Let me go to China.
Speaker 2:I want to go to Shanghai. So bad, That'd be so cool China yes.
Speaker 1:Now what have you learned? Because you are preaching skills, you're preaching the essential trades, you're preaching about the involvement. You don't come from the background, but you obviously see what it does to the youth. You see what it does in our society in terms of the fabric of our infrastructure. What has skills taught you?
Speaker 2:Well over the years. I have to tell you that when I first started there was a sort of a reluctancy from the schools to let us in there to do our programs because, well, of course they're promoting university, and so it was a bit of a struggle for us to build up our connections and and our relationships with the Manitoba schools. Now they come to us. They come to us wanting and needing information to provide kids with opportunities in the trade. So I think that more and more people are looking at them as fabulous careers. Parents too. They know that kids can make a really good living. They can own their business one day. So it's, I think, more and more. I know in my circle of friends that even they themselves, who have gone to university, encourage their own kids to take a second look at the trades. So I think mindsets are being changed.
Speaker 1:Are moving.
Speaker 2:And I think Skills Canada, national Skills Canada, across the country has been a big, big provided, a contribution in that too.
Speaker 1:I think we've been just glamorizing a bit.
Speaker 2:We have, and I think we sometimes take that for granted and we're so humble as an organization, nationally and provincially, but I think we need to take some of that credit because, we have made it really exciting and sexy and, wow, it's great to be involved in skills and, as you saw at the opening last night, all those young people on stage.
Speaker 1:Who at?
Speaker 2:one time never thought they would ever be able to do something like that and are so proud of themselves.
Speaker 1:I love that because I know both of them very well Leah and oh my gosh, I forgot his name.
Speaker 2:Oh, the MCs that I don't know. I know Emma, one of my alumni was up there and she was amazing. Emma, one of my alumni was up there and she was amazing, I'm so proud of her.
Speaker 1:I remember seeing them over the years sky reserved, nervous, and you still see the nerves, but it doesn't stop them now.
Speaker 2:It doesn't stop them now.
Speaker 1:They just know that they can do it.
Speaker 2:Yes, that confidence building, it's total confidence builder. Yeah, this event is amazing. They've produced a lot of superstars.
Speaker 1:Now over 20 years. You've probably seen a lot of people go through the cycle of skills.
Speaker 2:Yes, right.
Speaker 1:And I talk about that all the time is that you know you kind of dip a finger in the skills, you're getting pulled into the swimming pool and you might never get out.
Speaker 2:Oh, absolutely. We have competitors. That started out, let's say, even before I came on who are now instructors at the college.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, who are promoting skills to?
Speaker 1:their students.
Speaker 2:So it's full circle A lot of them stay involved with skills. They become volunteers, they go to the college, they start becoming teachers.
Speaker 1:Mentors, mentors, absolutely yeah. Now, in the 20 years that you've been with this because I love that you've been there so long, because it gives me a different perspective what are some of the obstacles that you've seen be like? Really disheartening, because it's not all ups, there's gonna have been some times when you're like you know funding gets cut here or something happens there.
Speaker 2:You know well we've had a lot of anxious moments yeah uh, over the years, funding was probably one of the biggest, uh, anxious, moments, I think, as we were building our sponsorship, our corporate sponsorship, and knowing that, um, it would be so helpful to expand our programs, which we very much wanted to do yeah that, um, you know, in the earlier years it took a bit of time until people felt, okay, we like what you do. So it took a while to prove yourself to prove ourselves Right and so we.
Speaker 2:Those were hard years and then there were some times where some of the provincial and federal funding it wasn't always so secure because it never is.
Speaker 1:No, in Saskatchewan. We had a collapse here.
Speaker 2:You know you have to continue to prove yourself and make yourself relevant. So I think you know sort of relevancy and maintaining relevancy has been very important as a provincial organization and I think as a federal organization.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:So we've had some dips, ups and downs, but we've yeah, it's a big turning wheel, it is Right.
Speaker 1:So you got to get through those low points to get back up on the high. The sponsorship part's huge. It is no-transcript, you know other form of supplementing. The resources is huge, it's huge, it's huge. And if you can get a couple big sponsors, that's great. But everyone's chasing the big whales and one of the things that we've learned at the CWB in terms of our connections and, I think, skills, is what they're doing it. Amazing now is that they're not just looking for the big whales, like, yes, if we can get a million-dollar donation, of course, who's going to say no to a million dollars? But if you can get, you know, a hundred smaller local companies to invest and be involved, that grassroots you know of involvement, that's sustainable.
Speaker 2:Absolutely. And you know what. That's what we're proud of in Manitoba, because the majority of my funders are small grassroots. And you know what. That's what we're proud of in Manitoba, because the majority of my funders are small grassroots. And we built from there and they're still staying with us.
Speaker 1:And I'm so proud of that. Well, they hire the kids. They literally see it as an investment into their own workforce. They do, they do, yeah. So for you coming here to Regina, what have you thought about this? Skills now, it's only day one. It's only day one so I haven't seen.
Speaker 2:You're the first person I saw. Uh, it's an amazing venue yes, this venue is huge huge, so we're definitely going to get our steps in today yeah so I'm very much looking forward to it. I love. My favorites are cooking, baking and landscape yeah, I see a connection there.
Speaker 1:I see a connection there. I mean landscaping, is you're going to sit in your garden and eat all the stuff?
Speaker 2:Yes, yes, exactly, exactly. That's exactly me, yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, Now do you have children? Yes, I have two boys Now are they in the trades at all? No, they're not.
Speaker 2:They're engineers. Well, that's still trade adjacent. That's kind of connected. Absolutely, yeah, trade adjacent.
Speaker 1:That's a good one. Skills, because one of the things that we're seeing in the trades not just in welding but in many of the other trades is the retention issue. Like we've done a great job of bringing kids in, we're doing a great job of having people show up, sign up and even compete, but not even the, the, the competitors here, in five years are guaranteed to even be doing this anymore, which breaks my heart, yeah when it's like.
Speaker 1:It's like, you know. You see that kid coming up through hockey who's an all-star and he breaks his knee and that's the end of his career. It's just like oh you know. So how do we maintain that retention piece with all these competitors?
Speaker 2:Well, I think we encourage sort of continual education, and I think sometimes too the transferable skills are important.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Because maybe sometimes you know a particular trade that they train for isn't actually where you know where they're going to end up and and actually they, uh, it's important to realize that some of those skills can be transferred to another trade very easily, and we see some of that happening too Well that's one of the things I was going to bring up.
Speaker 1:That's where I was going is engineering. Yes, a lot of parents talk about wanting their kids to be engineers. When I go to high schools, I hear a lot of kids engineering, engineering, engineering. But engineering is vast and wide, vast and wide and right now in canada, in alberta, ontario and in the maritimes, there are programs that go directly from welding into engineering, so they're called wet programs welding engineering technicians right, so you can get your welding, your inspectors, and then, when you decide to go to university directly from welding into engineering, so they're called WET programs Welding Engineering Technicians Right, so you can get your welding, your inspectors and then, when you decide to go to university, when you are debt-free with money in your pocket, you're already comfortable.
Speaker 2:And I think those make the best engineers.
Speaker 1:That's right, because you're not struggling and this is what I've been trying to tell so much of this youth in terms of retention, Like you know what, Maybe you won't be a welder in five years, but get your journey person, get your make money and build from there, Build from there, and they're the most.
Speaker 2:I remember some, I think. One of my sons said to me there was a couple of those students in school and they're actually the most successful ones because they grasp some of the things at a level that others don't, because they've seen it and they've had more of that hands-on experience. So that's what I mean Transferable skills are important. I think that, starting in the trades, you may not stay there. You may build a business or you may transfer to a different trade or profession.
Speaker 1:What skills you know you got the essential skills. What skills have you had to learn moving into this position, working with skilled tradespeople?
Speaker 2:skills have you had to learn moving into this position, working with skilled trades people what skill, oh, you're stumping me now trying to.
Speaker 1:Oh, you've been really good at all these okay.
Speaker 2:Well, I think you actually have stumped me. What skill have I learned that? Can you help me out here?
Speaker 1:yeah, like so. For example, when I came into being executive director to cwb, I come from a trades background welding background, right so I was lacking the ability to communicate as well as I thought I could, and I've learned through this road how to communicate better because I've had to communicate to so many different trades right, okay.
Speaker 2:So I kind of prided myself on communication so I saw that as one of my strengths. But now you've just triggered something. I felt really insecure around the as a lay person, I didn't have the language the trade language and terminology. So we work with professional technical committee members that put together a competition and they throw around labels and names that I'm like and acronyms, and I'm like what are they talking about? And they think I'm supposed to know this, and so that has been sort of an insecure spot for me not understanding the trade talk.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and there's always a hump right. There's always a learning curve to any job, right?
Speaker 2:So now I'm more confident to say what does that mean?
Speaker 1:yeah, back up. What does a, o, a, f, f, e, a mean, or whatever it is? Yeah, yeah, now what would be next on your plate? This seems like the dream job.
Speaker 2:It is a dream job I I never thought I would stay here this long. I thought I'd be, you know, doing something else, but I love it very much. No, I have. I have no other plans. I mean, the next plan would be to maybe travel for a permanent new gig.
Speaker 1:Get on the World Skills Committee yeah.
Speaker 2:Well, that would be nice, but I love my job.
Speaker 1:And.
Speaker 2:I plan to stick around a few more years before I retire.
Speaker 1:That's amazing. Now you said your favorite skills here are baking, cooking and landscaping yes, they are. Now, if you could choose one for a new career, which one would you choose? I'm talking like going right back to school, like right to apprenticeship level one cooking and and landscape is right behind, yeah, very close behind, yeah, their passions yeah. And then do you think that you could you handle it? I think, oh, yeah, I could cooking. Looks cutthroat, man. It does look cutthroat, I think yeah.
Speaker 2:I think I could. But landscaping, I think, has become a passion over the years, I think the older you get. Never thought I would be.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I know I'm putting in some new cement pads in my backyard next week. I love it.
Speaker 2:It's just so relaxing and therapeutic just love it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, building your little yes in the world, and I mean that's what the trades brings to people, is the connection to, to the earth to nature, to your surroundings. We are infrastructure, we are food, we are clothing, we are the things that help us survive we don't exist in the theoretical right exactly, we're very concrete hands-on, we can touch it yeah, now are you going to get around to look at any of the shows?
Speaker 2:yes, I'm looking forward to it. That's what I'm going to do when I finish with you yeah, are you going to get time? I never get time to do the full walk oh no, I do the full walk many times a day. Yeah, you know we have little meetings here and there with staff and with national staff, but right now I'm looking forward to just hitting the hitting the walking trail here Awesome.
Speaker 1:Yeah, well, this has been fantastic. I just want to ask you one more question before. I let you go here is in terms of advice. When you see all these different groups coming in, all these different kids, different trades, you know, and we talked about their nerves and the confidence building, what, what advice could you give to them with your experience now to say you know, this is what you need to do, to get ahead or to do well.
Speaker 2:I would say persevere, stick to it and don't give up. That's served. I think it served me well. It serves everybody well. Don't ever give up and just persevere, keep going and don't stop.
Speaker 1:Awesome. Well, thank you so much, maria, it's been fantastic. I hope you have a wonderful show. Good luck to your competitors here from manitoba. I hope they do well. I am from team saskatchewan. I am a little bit biased but I also love manitoba.
Speaker 2:Okay, thank you so much. Thank you so much okay bye-bye we hope you enjoy the show. Bye.