by Jennifer Platts, Journalism student

Gaining enough respect and trust to be elected Deputy Chief Expert for Graphic Design in the World felt great, says computer technician Kim MacNeill of Holland College. MacNeill was elected to this position following the World Skills trades and technology competitions held recently in Soeul, South Korea.

MacNeill made the trip to South Korea as Team Canada's Expert in the field of Graphic Design. MacNeill had applied to Skills Canada for this position by sending a letter stating why she would be a good candidate, as well as a resume indicating her qualifications in graphic design. Anyone can apply for the position, but should have a working knowledge of Skills Canada, a national organization whose mandate is to promote training in trades.

Recommended by Holland College's Visual Communications instructor Nigel Roe, Kim is a graduate of the College's Visual Communications program. She worked in the graphic design industry for three years and is now a computer support technician at Holland College and its Media and Communications Unit.

"It didn't really hit me until I went to Montreal and saw all the people involved," MacNeill said about being named to Team Canada. "It was a pretty big deal to represent graphic design for Canada."

Team Canada left September 5 from Vancouver to South Korea. The World Skills competition involves 40 different trades, such as welding and automotive. Thirty-five countries participated this year.

This is the first official year for Graphic Design and 13 countries took part. The competition lasts four days with six hours each day devoted to a variation of projects such as setting up a magazine cover.

"It's like the Olympics, except with trades," says MacNeill. In each trade there is a competitor, a trainer and an expert. MacNeill went as an expert. Her job was to arrange the training, provide resources and judge the competitors. This year, Australia won for graphic design.

Work for the next international competition to be held in Switzerland in June 2003, begins right away. As Deputy Chief Expert for the World, MacNeill will be second in command for Graphic Design. She will work with and help out the Chief Expert and make sure the international competition is set up and ready to go.

MacNeill was elected to this position by the other experts at Soeul. MacNeill says all the other experts have to trust you will ensure a fair competition will be run for all the competitors and you will not try to take advantage of the position.

"It was nice to get it. It made me feel that my peers, the other experts there, respected and trusted me enough to elect me for the position," she says. MacNeill was the youngest expert in the graphic design trade, and worried she would not be accepted by the other experts. "Being elected reinforced the fact that the age didn't matter and they did respect my knowledge and what I could do."

MacNeill says being with people from all over the world made her realize how lucky we are to be from Canada and what a wonderful country it is.

"One of the things I walked away with was how glad I am to be from Canada," she said. "I learned a lot by talking to people from different countries. I often heard their only resource was people. In Canada, we have so many resources we often forget about the wonderfully diverse culture we have, a culture which is welcomed and respected by people from all over the world."