Ensuring the next generation

Students at Project Heavy Duty learned about operating large heavy-duty machinery. — Brian Conrad photo

Travel to an existing large-scale mining outfit, and you're apt to find tradespeople from many countries and all walks of life. The combination of the shortage of skilled tradespeople and an aging worker population has companies looking overseas for employees; this has prompted both industry insiders and education professionals to ask, "How can we get young people interested in trades careers?"

The answer may lie in innovative programs to familiarize people with trades from an early age—programs such as Yes 2 It and Project Heavy Duty. High school students who then choose to pursue a trades career can do so through programs such as Accelerated Credit Enrollment in Industry Training (ACE IT), or, post-graduation, in the College of the Rockies (COTR)'s Mining Apprenticeship Program (MAP).

Brian Conrad, the regional transitions co-ordinator at the College of the Rockies in Cranbrook, B.C., said the programs have inspired a greater number of students to explore trades positions as they near leaving the public school system.

"These days, trades are sophisticated and university isn’t for everyone—either as a learning style or even for the outcomes," said Conrad. "What we’re trying to do with Yes 2 It, Project Heavy Duty and other partnering initiatives is to provide alternative pathways for students who have the inclination and the desire to study differently and work differently."

Yes 2 It works by taking Grade 9 students for a day of hands-on experience in four different trades areas, aided by COTR apprentices. Project Heavy Duty takes secondary school students to an on-site location to see—and operate—large machinery and familiarize themselves with construction trades. This year, attendees of Project Heavy Duty also toured Teck Coal's Elkview Coal Operations in the nearby Elk Valley. Partners of these programs include the Resources Training Organization, the Industry Training Authority, Teck Coal Corporation and WorkSafe BC.

The only one of its kind in B.C., MAP is a partnership between COTR and Teck Coal that increases access into trades careers such as heavy-duty mechanics and electricians. MAP students have the opportunity to apprentice locally; on-site training takes place in the East Kootenay region and technical training occurs on the COTR campus. COTR indentures the students throughout their apprenticeships.

Though some historic biases may have portrayed trades as playing second fiddle to university degrees, Conrad emphasizes that modern trades careers are highly developed. Far more than simply swinging a hammer, they require problem solving and mathematical skills, strong communication abilities and a dedicated work ethic. Conrad said that he feels a corner has been turned, and that, within the East Kootenay, these initiatives have proven successful in both generating interest and changing public perception.

"The goal with all of these programs is that a lot of these students will get the training they need in this area, and decide that, because they’ve grown up here, to stay in this area and be part of the workforce," said Conrad.