The future is looking bright for students interested in the skilled trades as their pathway to a fulfilling future.
That’s what Derek Beeston, vice principal of Nanaimo-Ladysmith School District’s Career Technical Centre told trustees at SD68’s Wednesday, Jan. 6 Education Committee meeting.
Of 935,000 jobs in B.C., 43 per cent are in the skilled trades. And 78 per cent of future job opportunities will require some form of post secondary education: 36 per cent university training; 42 per cent skilled trades and apprenticeships.
That picture is only going to improve for people who have the training to take on skilled jobs. “This year, right now, is the first that people are retiring faster than they are entering the work-force,” Beeston said.
Later he added: “For every single industry out there, there’s a shortage of skilled labour. It’s crazy.”
All that adds up to opportunities for students who decide on a skilled trade, and Nanaimo-Ladysmith School District – one of only three districts in B.C. to have a Career Technical Centre – is well positioned to work with students who do.
To help students, parents and schools get the message out the CTC has launched a web site: ctc-careerpaths.ca. It provides overviews of CTC programs including:
• Dual Credit programs where students can earn university and secondary credits at the same time.
• Secondary School Apprenticeships, that allow students to earn high school credits at the same time as they earn up to 480 hours of work experience that apply toward trade credentials
• Introductory programs, that allow students to try out a number of trades to see if there is one they’d like to pursue.
• Work experience programs, where students work a minimum of 90 hours on approved work sites, acquiring employability skills.
• Elementary skills exploration, which visits schools with ‘The Tool Box’ Trailer, introducing elementary students to trades and applied skills options.
Currently 195 SD68 students are taking dual credit courses at Vancouver Island University, which partners with the school district in the program. Between 45 and 60 students are in other programs around the district, Beeston said. And the goal is to have 100 students in Secondary Skills Apprenticeship and Work Experience programs.
“Our goal isn’t to convert everyone into a trades person,” Beeston said. “Our goal it to just open people up to the idea that there’s other things you can do.”
