Zachary Walsh - 21

Biography

I chose a career in the trades because I enjoy taking things apart and putting them back together to see how they function. I chose my trade in particular because I wanted a career that touched on many things such as: electrical, mechanical, piping, commissioning, troubleshooting etc. My career goals are to finish my apprenticeship and become a Red Seal technician. Although I plan to continue working at Acadia Refrigeration, sometimes I think of starting my own company when I’m older.

I got involved in Skills Competitions during my first year of the refrigeration course I was taking at Nova Scotia Community College. I entered the provincial competition in 2016 and won a gold medal. The following year I won gold at the 2017 Skills Canada National competition, in Winnipeg. Finally I won gold at SCNC Edmonton 2018, which was a qualifying year for the WorldSkills Competition.

Interesting Fact

My biggest inspiration is my boss and good friend Darren Best. He’s by far the smartest person that I know and can basically fix and build anything, whether or not it has to do with refrigeration. I look up to him and hope that someday I will have the same knowledge and skills that he does.

Essential Skills

A skill that has been instrumental to me in my training and during the competition would be thinking because you are constantly thinking about what’s going on with a system if you’re troubleshooting, or thinking of piping practices, electrical sequences, mechanical sequences, industry standards, and what you have to do next.