Skills Ontario competition in Toronto

Yesterday once again  had the pleasure of helping to judge the fashion component of the Skills provincial competition!  This has been my third time doing this and the students never disappoint, they are given only one day to create a garment from start to finish, the are given a pattern and fabric but have to manipulate the pattern pieces to create an original design, this year it was a double breasted jacket with a specific collar that could not be changed, pockets and bound buttonholes. 
They are judged on the pattern, how many changes they made, many aspects of garment construction, overall appearance and of course my 3 favourite F words; fabric, fit and finish! 
There is talent among the student body some come up with pretty amazing designs and execution!  Some struggle a bit with the construction, there are some who don't even get to finish....

Not sure why fashion is considered a peripheral course in the eyes of the government.....  If one looks around how many people are there in the immediate vicinity, city, province, country?  How many of said people are walking around naked?  Last time I checked everyone was fully clothed, so why on earth are not more people being trained in garment construction?  It is evident the will is there to learn on the part of the students, teachers are willing to teach but there is no standard to adhere to as far as quality of curriculum to reflect the needs/wants of the student body.  So why not get experts in the field to consult on the best way to modify/expand the fashion curriculum to one that will train future tailors? 

I have taken some steps to change this way of thinking by calling the minister of education to set up a meeting to discuss this problem.  The team of judges all agreed that this needs to be addressed sooner rather than later so we will all march into the minister's office to have some real face time!  If anyone agrees with me please feel free to leave comments and/or "like" this page on Fb.  The only way we will see some change is if we remind the government who is really in charge here - the taxpayer who pays their wages, they are accountable to us so they have to listen and take appropriate action to make the changes necessary to improve this situation.