Brandon Scott is on his way to nationals after winning gold in automotive collision repair at a Skills BC competition in Abbotsford April 17.
Scott grew up in Ladysmith and began his apprenticeship in body repair at Den’s Ladysmith Collision Centre at the age of 16, Den’s owner Shirley Goglin said.
Goglin referred to Scott as a “very talented and focused ‘gearhead’” who’s so skilled he’s even fashioned himself a dune buggy from a Volkswagen Beetle.
Scott completed his Level 3 apprenticeship at Den’s and now studies at Okanagan College — he moved to Kelowna to live closer to his girlfriend, Goglin said — but Shirley and her husband Stephen are his sponsors for both the Skills BC competition and for nationals.
The 21-year-old craftsman will put his skills to the test against the country’s top apprentices at the Skills Canada National Competition at BC Place in Vancouver June 4-8, an “Olympic-style” event for trainees of skilled trades and technologies.
Winning provincial gold has already paid off for Scott, it would seem.
“The phone’s been ringing off the hook from people hoping to hire him,” Goglin said. “We’re very proud of him.”