Hastings and Prince Edward District School Board is thrilled to celebrate our first-ever Skills Canada gold medalist! Edynn Goodland, a Grade 12 student at Central Hastings School, secured the top spot in the Workplace Safety category.
Accompanied by coaches Tom Kirk and Beth Workman, Edynn competed at the Enercare Centre in Toronto from May 28-29, 2026. Representing Ontario against students from every province and territory in Canada (except Quebec), she earned an exceptional final score of 94.5%. This national victory follows her provincial gold medal win on May 6, where she achieved an unprecedented perfect score of 100%.
The Workplace Safety category is an intensive employability skills competition that requires contestants to identify hazards in a mock workplace and perform risk assessments. During the event, Edynn evaluated safety control methods by observing an active auto-painting and detailing contest, wrote a proficiency exam, and spent three hours researching a warehouse scenario as an Occupational Health and Safety Officer. Her performance culminated in a presentation to a panel of three judges, where her background in public speaking proved to be a major asset.
Edynn first explored the competition last year with the encouragement of former teacher Mitchell Darby, placing sixth in Ontario. This year, she honed her skills by assessing mock hazards set up in the school's construction room.
As she prepares to graduate, Edynn is looking forward to a career in nuclear safety. She has been accepted into the nuclear engineering program at Ontario Tech University and aspires to work for Ontario Power Generation in the future.
For more information
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