The Saskatchewan Apprenticeship and Trade Certification Commission (SATCC) publicized the list of Saskatchewan Youth Apprenticeship (SYA) Industry Scholarship winners in 2020 鈥� this list included 100 graduating high school students in 72 communities across the province.聽
This year, the high achiever in Assiniboia was Ian Cristo 鈥� a 2020 graduate from the Assiniboia Composite High School.
Cristo won the Industry Scholarship to be an Automotive Service Technician.
This summer, Cristo is employed as a bin builder all over rural Saskatchewan. In the near future, Cristo said he hoped to find an apprenticeship in Saskatoon in a mechanics shop with the goal of expanding his experiences in automotive mechanics.
Eventually, Cristo also said he wanted a Red Seal Endorsement in diesel mechanics. 聽
The RSE acronym is used by journeypersons in Canada who鈥檝e attained Red Seal endorsements on their provincial or territorial Certificates of Qualification and Apprenticeships 鈥� these entrants must complete Red Seal examinations, as well as successfully fulfilling their apprenticeship training programs.
鈥淭he Red Seal is your final goal, instead of getting a diploma or a masters. Most mechanics work towards it,鈥� Cristo explained.
Cristo preferred the apprenticeship journeyman program in comparison to being enrolled in an in-class mechanics courses, because of the practicality and direct experiences involved. 鈥淓verything鈥檚 hands on 鈥� you鈥檙e taught to the right standards,鈥� he said.
Cristo had been interested in engines and motorized mechanics since childhood.
鈥淚 was always tinkering. I put everything together on the farm like old trucks and lawnmowers. I rebuilt a pressure washer engine when I was 14.鈥�
Cristo credited his mechanics teacher, Corbin Froshaug, for helping him to exceed in mechanics. Cristo enjoyed his mechanics training at high school, where he completed Mechanics 10, 20 and 30.
The shop in high school also provided an area where he had access to equipment and could work on vehicles to increase his mechanical knowledge.聽聽 聽
鈥淚n Grade 10, I did all the work on my 鈥�97 Mustang by myself. I did the work at the shop in school,鈥� Cristo recounted. 鈥淚 did the brakes, alternator, wiring and subs 鈥� a bunch of little things.鈥�
鈥淭here was a 鈥�86 Dodge 鈥� I did lots work on that thing too,鈥� Cristo added.
Cristo said he appreciated being able to work on vehicles, because there鈥檚 a sense of accomplishment involved. He also enjoyed the challenge of problem solving whenever he鈥檚 fixing a car. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a feeling that you did it 鈥� you also learn from every different vehicle 鈥� the diagnostics are different for what could go wrong.鈥澛� 聽 聽 聽聽
