South Alberta School of Trades Hosts Open House

There was a good turnout at the South Alberta School of Trades Open House at Medicine Hat College on February 13 with about 100 people coming out for the two in- person sessions held in the evening along with an online one during the day for the Foremost and Oyen areas. Interest is high and enrollment for the program is already near capacity. 

Sherry Craven, Student Experience Designer, explained the structure of the program will be cohorts of 12 with up to 48 students accepted each year. “If anyone wants to get their first-year apprenticeship by the time they graduate (from high school), this program is going to help them realize their interests and put the resources behind helping them find the path that is best for them. My goal would be that by graduation, they have their first year (post-secondary) under their belt, but at the very least they are coming in and learning all kinds of life and job skills, getting themselves to be more employable,” stated Craven.  

In the first year, Grade 10 students experience two weeks in each of the seven trades – plumbing, welding, electrical, automotive, carpentry, heavy duty mechanics, and pipefitting – giving them the opportunity to experience a variety of trades to find those that most interest them.  

In the second year, students will choose from one of four clusters, each containing two trades. “The clusters are already decided, they will pick one cluster. They will get experience in two trades of whatever is in the cluster they are most interested in,” explained Craven.  

At the end of Grade 11, students will have both high school and post-secondary credits along with, hopefully, gaining work experience. “In addition to all the stuff being done in school, the students need to be getting out and getting jobs and experience in the field,” stated Craven. “They are starting work experience in the summer by Grade 11. In addition to taking this dual credit class, they will hopefully be registering in RAP (Registered Apprenticeship Program) by Grade 11.” 

Declan Grant and his friend Cooper Melvin, both Grade 9 students at Parkside School in Redcliff, attended the open house and are excited about the School of Trades. They have experience in the plumbing lab and electrical lab at Medicine Hat College as part of a program through Parkside. Declan’s mom Amy said, “when I heard they came out with this I was pretty excited because Declan has been interested in mechanics for quite some time, heavy duty specifically because he is a fairly big guy.” 

Cooper is interested in carpentry and thinks it would be cool to build a house one day. Cooper’s mom Joni said, “this is a fantastic opportunity and just to have a leg up going in and being hooked up with pre-employment and the connections they can get through this program. To be able to know this is what they are really interested in before investing in college, it’s just fantastic on so many levels.” 

Trustee Shauna VanderSpruit attended the open house and was thrilled about the great turnout at the event. “When these opportunities are presented to the Prairie Rose school community, it gives kids an opportunity in a school setting to step out of their comfort zone and try something new. They can experience college life while still in high school. Lots of kids who know they want to be in trades are interested early, but there are still those students who don’t realize that trades is a great career and this will give them the opportunity to see that sooner.” 

For Eagle Butte students, the commute to Medicine Hat College will not be overly taxing, but for those coming in from Oyen, Bow Island and Foremost, more planning will be required by the schools. 

“The advantage we have there,” stated VanderSpruit, “is we have an executive team and administrators at the schools who are so willing to think outside the box and to make it happen for these kids, going that extra mile across the school division.” 

Principal of Foremost School Corey Steeves said mechanics is once again available as an option at the school and many students, along with their parents, are interested in trades education. Steeves understands the need for people trained in the trades and is aware of the future benefits of the new program, thus he is willing to do whatever it takes to make it work for Foremost students.  

“The way it’s laid out is awesome, where in Grade 10 you don’t know what you don’t know,” added Steeves. “They might think they are interested in the trades and only be thinking about heavy duty mechanics, but what’s awesome about that first year is they will be exposed to all those other trades and they might realize they like another one of them more. We’ve seen the power of the Flight Academy and Fire Academy and our Rodeo Academy, things like that, where students are experiencing as they are learning are super valuable.”  

The School of Trades will offer students hands-on, experiential learning while providing them a jump start to their post-secondary education. “It’s a good opportunity to have strong supports behind you as a student to find their path,” concluded Craven. “When I talk to adults, they wish there was something like this when they were younger. I have a 26-year-old going into his carpentry apprenticeship and I never had an inkling he would want to do that. Getting that early start and finding out if you are interested, what your passions are, is highly valuable.” 

 By Samantha Johnson, Prairie Rose Public Schools Content Writer