2022 Skills Competitions

Winston Lord

Engineering Manager, Kraken Sense
Power Electronics, Partial Load Instructor (PT)
Electronics Engineering Technologist, Class of 2015
14th Place, Electronics, WorldSkills 2015
Silver Medalist, Electronics, Skills Canada 2014
Silver Medalist, Electronics, Skills Ontario 2014

Tell us about your personal journey and passion for electronics?

Growing up in Mississauga, I was always curious and had a knack for playing with electronics. In grade school, I would collect toothpaste containers and toilet paper rolls, to make functioning traffic lights using pipe cleaners, Christmas lights and batteries. I had a VERY imaginative mind! (laughing). These random projects continued while attending high school where I was always tinkering. I was known as the kid who had retrofitted speakers on his bike!

Tell us about why you chose Humber College to pursue your passion in electronics and your continued journey at FAST?

My mom is a Humber alumnus, and I felt the Electronics Engineering Technology advanced diploma program would provide me with the opportunity to gain valuable, practical skills. And it did!

Upon graduating, I immediately secured a position in my field and now I’m an Engineering Manager at Kraken Sense. I am also incredibly proud and honoured that I was asked to return as an instructor and share my knowledge and expertise to help the next generation. This demonstrates how much I have progressed in my field and that people find my ideas are valuable. I take this responsibility very seriously and I’m so happy that I have been given this unique opportunity to apply my knowledge and skills to help forward advancements in the electronics field.

What is your teaching philosophy?

Don’t sugar coat it.

Teachers have the responsibility to treat students as adults and prepare them for the real world. Students deserve our respect, and we owe it to them to be honest and transparent when teaching them the fundamental skills that will prepare them for their careers.

You competed in the electronics field and earned a silver medal at both the 2014 Ontario Skills & National Skills and then proudly represented Canada at the 2015 World Skills in São Paulo, Brazil. Tell us about this experience?

Competing in the Skills Competition is life-changing! From the training and preparing for the competitions to the team building, participating in the Skills Competition opens your mind to all the different career paths you can take and provides you with worldly experiences, offering you a glimpse into the real world.

While competing in Brazil, Team Canada had the opportunity to visit an elementary school and meet with students to talk about our fields of expertise. It was one of the most memorable moments throughout the entire competition and so rewarding to know that I may have inspired a student to pursue a career in electronics.

What valuable lesson did you learn from competing in the Skills Competition?

How to deal with loss.

There can only be one winner so when you are not the chosen one, you learn to recover and bounce back. Life is a highway and it’s so important to learn how to keep moving, growing as an individual and learn how to lose gracefully.

What advice would you give electronics engineering students or any student pursuing a specific skill or trade?

Enter the competition!

The amount of knowledge you gain during the training and actual competition will be of great benefit to you in your academic and professional career.

I had the opportunity to train in the UK with people from all around the world. I created bonds and relationships with people before the competition even started.

That journey of training prior to the competition is so valuable because you are training with industry experts who are teaching you new skill sets. I had an ecosystem of support from professionals who were committed to helping and preparing us not only for the competition, but for the real world.

This competition adds on a secondary layer of information and knowledge that is more diverse and agile. Humber gives you the fundamentals and the Skills Competition gives you the expanded knowledge. Combined, you are ready to embark on your career journey!