Tyler Kropinak will be testing himself against the top trades students from across Canada at the 17th annual Skills Canada national competition.

Kropinak, who attends Kwantlen Polytechnic University, won the right after beating out seven other welding students in the regional and provincial qualifying rounds.

鈥淚鈥檝e been looking forward to this competition ever since I was 14 years old,鈥� Kropinak said. 鈥淚鈥檓 hopeful that I鈥檒l be able to make it onto the podium and be recognized as one of the best young welders in the country.鈥�

The competition runs through this weekend in Quebec City and will feature 500 competitors in a variety of trade categories. Twenty thousand spectators are expected.

鈥淭his really is the 鈥極lympics鈥� of trade competitions in Canada,鈥� Kropinak said. 鈥淚鈥檓 feeling a lot of nervous excitement about the opportunity.鈥�

To prepare, he has been practising for two to three hours daily for the past few weeks, in addition to doing his work at Columbia Remtech, a local manufacturer of aluminum petroleum trailers and aluminum asphalt trailers.