Not only are they the best in Manitoba—but Connor Brick and Josh Klassen are now the most skilled high schooler and post-secondary student in the country for their respective trades.
That's according to results from Skills Canada, a national competition challenging students' skills in various trades.
Brick, a graduating student at Steinbach Regional Secondary School (SRSS), earned gold in cabinet making. Klassen from Steinbach, a second-year masonry apprentice at Red River College, came away with top honours in bricklaying.
Brick feels "amazing" and "surprised" by success
It was a long couple of days in Regina, Sask., for Brick, who spent 11 hours crafting his competition project: a campaign table.
While exhausted by the end of the competition, he reflects on the experience with joy and humility.
"It feels amazing. I didn't think I would be getting a gold medal at nationals. I was so surprised when they called my name for gold," the soon-to-graduate high schooler says.
While he had the obvious tools on hand, Brick says he also carried a key asset in his toolbox: time management.
"Being able to work on something, set it aside while I waited for it to dry or the judges to inspect it, and being able to go work on something else. Also using my coffee breaks and lunches to have time for glue to set," he explains.
He "nailed" the final project—a more complex version of what he built at provincials—and says the biggest thing he gained might not fit in any toolbox.
"I learned that I have what it takes to compete in a competition like this. I have the stamina, and just being able to work well under pressure," Brick says, thanking family and friends for their support and encouragement along the way.
His coach and teacher, Merle Schmidt, is beaming with pride.
"He did it, first of all, and he followed through with what his plan was," Schmidt says, noting Brick put in six to ten hours a week refining his skills—most of that time on his own initiative.
"That was not our time together necessarily. He was giving that amount of time. Then we did two to four hours, for sure, a week."
Brick says he plans on going into construction, but there may be some fine woodworking in his future yet.
"I might switch to cabinet making if the winters get too cold and my back starts to hurt too much," he says with a smile.
Klassen cements win with bricks, confidence, and camaraderie
Josh Klassen says the moment he walked into the opening ceremonies of Skills Canada, the scale of the event hit him.
"It almost felt like I was walking into a mini Olympics," he says.
The Red River College apprentice completed two projects over two days. The first was highly technical—only two of eight competitors completed it, and Klassen was one of them. The second was larger, less technical, but with its own set of challenges.
Although uncertain of what to expect, Klassen showed up with one goal.
"I was expecting to do my best," adding he was a little nervous, but his instructor told him to give it his all.
"Then I was like, alright. I do belong here," Klassen says. "I am the best in Manitoba, I should go to the national competition. And now I've got gold for Canada."
Just saying that, he says he can't help but smile. It's the culmination of years of hard work and dedication.
"I've been working in the masonry industry since I was big enough to carry a pail of water. Then I was helping my dad on weekends," he says.
It didn't take long for him to fall in love with the trade.
"My instructor says that only masons can take a pile of bricks and build something beautiful," he says. "The projects that I do, they will stick around for 50, to 150, years... it's very fulfilling."
The friendships he forged at the event were just as lasting.
"It really felt like an instant connection," he says. "I've found new friends that will be around for a while. It just so happens that all five of us placed... we have three golds and two silvers."
"It felt like they're the right people to be around," he adds.
Looking ahead, Klassen says he's confident he'll be working in masonry until he retires, and is planning to attain journeyperson status in the trade.
"I'm not sure what the future holds, but I know it's going to involve bricks."