The WPARA and its members are heavily invested in the automotive repair industry and believe that
automotive repair makes a great career. Every year the WPARA runs the High School Get Skilled!
Competition for Automotive Service, in partnership with St. Clair College, the Great Essex County District
School Board, and the Windsor/Essex Catholic District School Board.
The Get Skilled! Competition invites high school students to show off their automotive skills to compete
for the chance to represent their school board at Skills Ontario. However, it’s much more than just a
competition, as WPARA member shop owners and employees not only act as competition judges, but as
guides and mentors.
We encourage participants of all skill levels to participate. Even if you don’t win, you will learn extremely
valuable skills and information about automotive service. If a competitor is not sure of a procedure to
complete an assigned task, we are there to help them through it. If a competitor makes a mistake, we
are there to help ensure that mistake will not be repeated.
Competitors get the opportunity, and are encouraged, to discuss the Automotive Service trade with the
people who work in it every single day. We are happy to talk about why we do it, what an automotive
service technician can earn, the great parts of our work, and the bad parts, too.
The first, second, and third place winners are offered summer employment (with enrollment into the
OYAP) at one of our member shops. A good showing at the Get Skilled! Competition can directly set up a
competitor with a career in Automotive Service.
The Windsor Professional Auto Repair Association presents a donation to the Great Essex County District
School Board for their Transportation Technology programs. The money for the donation is raised by our
various fundraising activities, including our Christmas Party and Golf Tournament. The Greater Essex
County District School Board has matched our donation every year.
