Mississauga's Philip Pocock Secondary students big winners in auto show skills competition

TORONTO, Feb. 12, 2015 /CNW/ - Two automotive technician students from Philip Pocock Catholic Secondary School in Mississauga beat out 18 other Toronto-area high school teams to win a high-octane skills competition at the Canadian International AutoShow on Feb. 12.

Michael Macut and Alex Morrison performed a number of timed technical tasks and worked on a 2015 Volkswagen Jetta that had been rigged with a no-start condition by automotive instructors from Centennial College. The Toronto college operates Canada's largest transportation technology training centre.

By finishing first, the pair will be representing Canada at the National Automotive Technology Competition in New York City in April. In addition to the all-expenses-paid trip, Macut and Morrison won tools and equipment from sponsors.

Scarborough's Jean Vanier Catholic Secondary School finished second, thanks to the efforts of students Arvin Mendoza and Jan Schymanski, while Antonio Malatesta and Manvir Panesar from Mississauga's St. Joseph Catholic Secondary School earned third place. The automotive labs of all three schools will receive a vehicle from General Motors Canada for training purposes.

In addition, teacher Magid Masoud of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Catholic Secondary School earned the third annual Gerd Reisenecker Memorial Teacher of the Year Award, named for the former Centennial professor and TADA member.

The 16^th annual Toronto Automotive Technology Competition received outstanding support from the industry. Sponsors include: TADA, the Canadian International AutoShow, Volkswagen Canada, General Motors Canada, Snap-On Tools, Consulab, Canadian Tire, Toromont, Electude-Argo, Nelson Education, Pearson Education, ShockLock, TecMate and Centennial College.

Photos available upon request.

SOURCE Centennial College

Media contact: Mark Toljagic, Communications Officer, Centennial College, 416-289-5000, ext. 7142, [email protected]