Keyano Alumnus Earns Medal for Excellence at WorldSkills Shanghai 2026

A journey that began in Keyano’s Electrical Dual Credit program has reached the world stage, with recent Keyano alumnus Keegan Sturge earning a Medal for Excellence at WorldSkills Shanghai 2026.

Representing Team Canada in Electrical Installations, Sturge earned a Medal for Excellence, awarded to WorldSkills competitors who achieve a world-class standard in their skill.
The result follows four days of competition in Shanghai and approximately 16 months of training and preparation.

For Sturge, the achievement marks the latest milestone in a Skills journey that began at Keyano while he was still a student at École McTavish. He earned bronze at his first Skills Alberta competition in 2022 before taking provincial gold and national silver in 2023. Moving into the post-secondary category, he went on to earn gold at both the provincial and national levels in 2024 and 2025, securing his place on Team Canada.

Throughout that journey, Sturge trained with Keyano electrical instructor and mentor Dawn Ohama, who continued coaching him as he prepared for international competition.

For Gord MacKenzie, Interim Dean of Trades & Heavy Industrial at Keyano, Sturge’s success highlights both his dedication and the value of creating strong pathways for students to pursue careers in the skilled trades.

We are incredibly proud of Keegan for earning a Medal of Excellence at the WorldSkills Competition. His journey began in a high school dual credit program and continued through Keyano College’s Electrical Apprenticeship training, demonstrating the value of creating clear pathways from secondary education to the skilled trades. This achievement reflects his hard work, talent, and dedication, and serves as an inspiration to future trades students across our region.

— Gord MacKenzie

Competing at WorldSkills has been the hardest and most rewarding challenge I’ve faced in my journey as an electrician. Representing Canada on the world stage has been an incredible honour, but being a WorldSkills competitor is also a challenge that is difficult to fully understand unless you’ve experienced it yourself. The countless hours of training, the sacrifices, the pressure, the setbacks, and constantly pushing yourself to become better all lead up to just a few days of competition.

— Keegan Sturge

Ahead of WorldSkills, Sturge credited the instructors and program with supporting his journey.

The instructors, the program…they’re incredible. You always feel like someone’s in your corner.

— Keegan Sturge

Keyano electrical instructor and Keegan’s longtime mentor Dawn Ohama said she is proud of both his achievement and the dedication that took him to the world stage.

I’m extremely proud of how hard Keegan has worked and of the time, dedication, and sacrifice he has given to compete at WorldSkills. To finish with a Medal of Excellence is an incredible achievement, and I’m very proud to have played even a small role in his journey. More than anything, I hope Keegan’s success shows our Wood Buffalo students what is possible. With hard work, the right support, and people who believe in you, opportunities like this are within reach. I hope we see many more of our local students take that same leap and find themselves on a world stage one day.

— Dawn Ohama

WorldSkills Shanghai 2026 brought together approximately 1,400 competitors from nearly 70 countries and regions across 64 skill competitions. Gold, silver, and bronze medals were presented to the top performers in each skill, while Medals for Excellence recognized competitors who achieved world-class standards.

Sturge was one of 31 skilled trade and technology competitors selected to represent Canada at WorldSkills Shanghai 2026.