Ben Lambert may have just graduated from Cambrian College's three-year computer systems technology program earlier this month, but he's already landed a job in his field.
He's working at Great White North Technology Consulting in his hometown of Timmins.
The fact that he's gainfully employed is not a surprise, given his prowess at the recent Skills Ontario and Skills Canada competitions.
Lambert won a gold at the provincials and a silver at the nationals, which tested his hands-on skills doing things such as working on servers, troubleshooting and networking.
Only those who win gold at provincials move onto the national competition. Lambert actually skipped his graduation ceremony to attend Skills Canada, which was held in Moncton, New Brunswick, but it paid off.
He said he's excited about his win.
“I mean, who wouldn't be?” Lambert said. “Being the second best at something in the country is pretty remarkable, it doesn't matter what it is.”
Lambert said the skills competitions are great because they not only look good on a resume, they give students practical experience on things they might encounter when they're working in their field.
Cambrian students in a variety of programs attend the skills competitions, but the computer systems technology students always do especially well, said Bob Vachon, a professor in the program.
Students in the program have won 17 medals at the provincial level since it started entering a little more than a decade ago, and three golds, two silvers and two bronze at the national level.
Vachon said he always sends one second-year and one third-year student in his program to Skills Ontario. Last year, as a second-year student, Lambert won the bronze medal, which he said is remarkable.
“He's super smart,” Vachon said, adding that the last course Lambert took with him focused on troubleshooting, and he believes the student was able to apply a lot of what he learned in class at the competition.
Cambrian student Eric Boudreau also competed in the Skills Canada competition earlier this month — in his case in the heavy equipment mechanic category — but did not place.
