July 14, 2022 – At its 2022 annual educational conference, the National Electrical Trade Council (NETCO) recognized Blair Mikkelsen, training director at IBEW Local 625 in Nova Scotia, with the 2021 Leadership Excellence award.

“Mikkelsen has been described as passionate about the industry and the success of apprentices,” said Chris Swick, NETCO’s executive director. “There is a consensus among his peers that there will be a huge void and big shoes to fill when Mikkelsen retires this year and, on behalf of NETCO, we thank him and wish him all of the best.”

Established in 2016, NETCO’s Leadership Excellence award honours an industry training professional for outstanding contributions to apprenticeship training and continuous electrical training.

“Mr. Mikkelsen is continuously looking for opportunities to improve apprenticeship training to educate the existing workforce and to engage the workforce of tomorrow,” said Trent Soholt, executive director, Nova Scotia Construction Sector Council. “As an organization that engages youth job seekers and career transitioners, we regularly call on him to showcase the trade, promote the electrical sector, highlight training opportunities, and share career experiences.”

Past NETCO Leadership Excellence award recipients include:

2020 – Adrien Livingston
2019 – Chris Taran
2018 – Kelly Kienleitner
2017 – Andre (Andy) Cleven
2017 – Peter Olders
2016 – Raymond Matthews
2016 – Robert Nelson

The National Electrical Trade Council is an alliance of the Canadian Electrical Contractors Association and the IBEW in Canada.