NORTHERN ALBERTA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
Instructor leads Canadian carpentry comeback at WorldSkills

For years, the idea of not using nails has been a nonstarter for certain Canadian competitors at WorldSkills.

Carpentry has long been part of the international event, which gathers young people from around the world to showcase and test their skills. But European entrants have arguably been advantaged due to its focus on joinery, a centuries-old process common to the continent and that involves puzzle-piece cuts to join wood without fasteners.

"That's the type of carpentry they do at the world competition," says NAIT Carpenter instructor Paul Bettio (class of '08). "We typically don't teach or build that way here in North America."

The last time Canada sent a carpentry participant to WorldSkills was 2015, in São Paulo - that is, until now, in time for the fall 2026 event in Shanghai, China.

Bettio has volunteered with Skills Canada Alberta and Skills Canada for more than 16 years, participating in or leading the planning or execution of activities that promote the trade, including competition development and judging.

For carpentry, he's been a vocal advocate for returning Canada to the world stage.

"In June [2025]," says Bettio, "I got a phone call."

It was from SkillsAlberta, delivering the news he'd been hoping for, and that would ultimately position him as one of Canada's most influential advocates for a new generation of carpenters.

Exploring the unknown

One of those carpenters, Logan Peters, has never seen anything like what's coming Sept. 22 to 27 in Shanghai.

The city is set to welcome 1,400 competitors from 70 countries and regions for 64 skill competitions. Events will take place in the sprawling National Exhibition and Convention Center, the world's largest facility of its kind.

"I've never been out of the country, actually," he says, "so it's going to be a unique experience."

Peters is 20 years old and a third-year carpenter apprentice at Lakeland College in Vermilion, two hours east of Edmonton. He works at Barrett Built, a custom home builder based in nearby St. Paul, where he enjoys seeing the tangible results of his work.

"For example, [there's] a field and then, in six months, there's a house there," says Peters.

In recent years, he's medalled at the regional skills event and at nationals, in Regina. That earned him a spot on Team Canada, leading to a lot more work. Every weekend, Peters returns to Vermilion to train with Lakeland instructor David Jones. They pore over previous Skills project blueprints and practise building them.

They also explore the unknown.

"[There are] a lot of hand-tool skills I've got to develop that we don't normally use at work," says Peters.

That blend of skills is behind the Canadian carpentry comeback. When Bettio was advocating for that, representatives from countries such as Australia and Brazil, where construction practices are similar to those in North America, were building a case for changes with new and more receptive leadership at WorldSkills.

"Would Canada come back to help us build momentum on this change?"

The feeling at the time, recalls Skills Canada Alberta executive director Chris Browton (Radio and Television Arts '92), was that, "we're stuck in this European model. Would Canada come back to help us build momentum on this change?"

Skills Canada CEO Shaun Thorson echoes and adds to that. "The goal was to make this a more globally inclusive competition. We want to be part of that solution."

Peters is part of that solution, too. And he has no illusions about what that means.

"It is going to be one of the hardest things I ever do," he says. But whatever happens in Shanghai, "I think this will just help me to be a better carpenter in general."

Elevating esteem and the economy

"I believe that, for all the trades, it's important to have an end goal," says Bettio, considering the pathways available for apprentices who want to grow through competition.

That belief underpins why he was chosen by the two Skills organizations to join Peters and Jones' team as the country's sole official expert in carpentry at WorldSkills 2026 - that is, as the national representative for the trade. Being part of the process to elevate professional esteem matters to Bettio.

"Watching these competitors in action, it's just so gratifying to see them challenge themselves," he says.

" National champion' is a great title," Bettio adds. But having "the opportunity to be called world champion, that's a huge recognition."

That may be huge for the country, too, suggests Thorson. "Construction is a really important element of the Canadian economy," he says, noting the national emphasis on housing and infrastructure. "Having Canada participate in carpentry [at WorldSkills] gives us more opportunities to promote [construction-related] occupations."

The opportunity for Bettio, Thorson adds, is to be part of international conversations that could make the event ever more inclusive.

"I don't think that we expect that, through this first cycle, we'll get to where that competition needs to be, but maybe I'm wrong," Thorson says. "Even if there are baby steps in the right direction, that's a good thing."

Bettio's appointment makes Browton hopeful as well. "If we can see this event aligning more with our industry, then I'm optimistic that we'll continue to participate on an ongoing basis."

In the meantime, the impact on apprentices like Peters may be its own success. It's as if he's been given a chance to build the door before opening it so that others may follow him.

"When I was in high school, I remember thinking, Man, it'd be cool to go to WorldSkills one day,'" says Peters. "But, at that time, you couldn't go to Worlds for carpentry.

"And then here, all of a sudden, it's happening."