Spotlight shines on trades training
Trades training is a red hot commodity today, thanks mainly to the booming construction industry in British Columbia – but also to home renovation shows like “From the Ground Up,” hosted by Canadian design diva Debbie Travis.
The show gives 12 young people from different provinces the opportunity to learn valuable trade skills and compete against each other by building a million-dollar mansion in Ontario.
Jackie Lahaise, one of the British Columbians chosen from thousands of applicants, tried out trades work for five weeks when she took part in the show last fall, and she says she is now hooked. “The majority of the work was physical . . . [and it] gave me the confidence that whatever I put my mind to, I will succeed,” she said.
“We (female team members) worked with tile setters carrying 100 pound stacks of tiles and worked on our hands and knees for days setting tile,” said Lahaise, 20, who lives near Nanaimo. “At the end, the master tradesman said he would offer all of us jobs.”
Sample the trades
Spots on Travis’s show are tough to come by – but there are other ways to try out the trades. For example, the British Columbia Institute of Technology offers a trades discovery program that gives participants extensive access to more than 20 trades and technical training programs.
Students gain hands-on experience installing hot water tanks, framing a small house, welding and working on mechanical systems in cars, aircraft and heavy equipment. The programs include three weeks of job shadowing, partnering education with industry and the community.
Selkirk College offers a similar program over 11 weeks that provides basic technical knowledge and hands-on training in electrical, millwright, machinist, welding, carpentry and general mechanics geared specifically to women seeking to enter the trades. The skilled trades exploratory program also gives the students the opportunity to visit industrial worksites to see how trades people perform their skills.
High demand for trades workers
The new appeal of trades training is good news for the provincial government, which will put $400 million into enlarging and upgrading its workforce over the next three years. The Ministry of Advanced Education is providing additional support to post-secondary institutions that offer trade programs to help keep pace with high demand for skilled trade workers in B.C.
“We want to get the word out to young British Columbians that there are opportunities for them to get industry-recognized training through our post-secondary programs across the province that will lead to high-paying jobs in the trades,” said Advanced Education Minister Murray Coell. “B.C.’s economy is moving from strength to strength, and as a result, the need for highly skilled tradespeople has never been greater.”
Cloverdale Trades and Technology Centre
The Ministry of Advanced Education provided $39.2 million to build a new 17,203-square-metre trades training facility at Kwantlen University College’s Cloverdale campus to help the province increase the supply of skilled trade workers and apprenticeship programs. The building, set to open this fall, will accommodate 900 students taking trades, technology and applied programs.
Lahaise has applied to Kwantlen University College for the interior design program so she can use some of the skills she gained doing trades work on the Travis show. “Some interior designers walk in wearing high heels and tell other workers what to do. Debbie showed us that we can actually take part in the construction,” she said.
Electro-Mechanical Building Trades Facility
Okanagan College also has a new trades training facility, which opened in April. The centre will offer skilled training in electrical, plumbing and sheet metal courses on its Kelowna campus, and plans are in the works to offer similar courses at the Penticton, Vernon and Salmon Arm campuses on a rotating basis.
The college is also involved in partnerships with industry to train students in residential construction programs in Salmon Arm and Kelowna, where students work with other skilled tradeworkers to build a show home.
The Ministry of Advanced Education is not only providing money for facilities: in April, the ministry gave a $5-million grant to the Trades Training Consortium of B.C. to buy updated equipment for students. The consortium works with the Industry Training Authority and the Ministry of Advanced Education to ensure trades training is of the highest quality and is effectively and efficiently delivered.
Lahaise says she is optimistic about opportunities for young people getting into the trades today. “We will walk out of school and get multiple job offers partly because so many people are ready to retire and because of the 2010 Olympics. . . . I would recommend trades training for people who want a really rewarding career. I think it will be lucrative too,” she concluded. |
