It’s been estimated there will be over 1,000,000 job openings in BC between now and 2020. 43% of these will be in trades and technical training occupations – but unless we act now there may not be enough skilled workers to fill them.
The BC government recently announced a comprehensive plan to help British Columbians get the skills and training they need to fill these jobs. And the K-12 system has an important role to play to help make it happen. Together with school districts, the Ministry of Education will:
- ensure that learners have multiple pathways to graduation, the workplace, and post-secondary education;
- improve learner access to information about, and support for, trades and technical occupations;
- expand our partnerships with industry and post-secondary institutions to improve trades and technical training opportunities.
We’re still working out exactly how we can achieve these objectives. You can help us by providing your ideas on the following questions:
- As a parent or teacher, how have you helped a young person choose a learning or career path?
- How can we encourage young people to explore career options in the trades and skilled occupations, especially in the earlier grades?
- Many of us don’t consider trades and technical careers as viable options for our young people. How can we change that perception?
If you have thoughts about the broader government strategy for skills and training, please contact the BC Jobs Plan team.
The K – 12 education system is an integral component of attracting students to pursue technical and trades career options. As a shop teacher starting teaching in the 1980s I have witnessed the demise of many shop classes. Programs today are operating with equipment reflective of the 70s & 80s, class sizes have increased and operating budgets continually have been reduced. Many programs are unable to follow the prescribed learning outcomes for the program due to lack of funding or equipment. Shop programs have become areas in which instructors are making do and only able to address small portions of the curriculum. As a result programs are often viewed as a place where those students who are struggling socially or academically are put. Successfully pursing a relevant technical or trades career option requires students with a strong foundational academic skill set, students with such a skill set do not view our current shops as being able to provide them with the educational pre-requisite required to succeed in these areas. Post-secondary institutes do not recognize student’s achievements in high school technical programs. These factors combined preclude many academic students from pursing a technical career pathway.
Presently Nanaimo School District is exploring the concept of a “Trades Academy” the intent of which would be to provide students with exposure to real and relevant technical educational programs. These programs would be linked to Vancouver Island University providing a seamless transition for students from high school technical programs to post-secondary technical program. This concept has proven successful in many other jurisdictions who have witnessed increased rates of graduation and transition into technical career pathways. Government commitment to addressing the shortage of technical and skilled workers would be demonstrated by supporting Nanaimo’s proposal for a Trades Academy. Piloting this concept will provide a model from which technical education programs are developed and will make significant strides in addressing the current and growing shortage of technical and skilled trades.
Thank you for your thoughtful submission, Luc. The idea of a Trades Academy is one that is being considered in different areas of the province and clearly is a promising idea. It will be interesting to keep an eye on the Nanaimo School district’s success with theirs. We also agree that the students considering a career in the trades require a solid foundation with language fluency and mathematics.
One of the problems that vocational teachers face is the overabundance of electives in larger secondary schools. [It's a problem that also hurts certain academic electives.] In the last decade there has been a concerted effort in BC to provide a virtual smorgasbord of electives that are neither academic nor vocational. These “third way” electives have become a major problem: students can take almost an entire slate of these courses, and come out with an excellent GPA, and yet be completely unprepared for university, trade school or the business world.
The MoE and the Liberal government must shoulder a lot of the blame. In their collective rush to improve graduation rates [an obsession that I believe is having a toxic effect on our system], we see grad requirements eased to the point where students barely have to step over the lowered bar. And since mandatory course requirements have eased, many students are gaming the system and filling up their secondary calendars with an overabundance of the aforementioned third way courses.
I’ve discussed this at length here:
http://lexiconic.net/wheatfromthechaff/archives/1258
In my school district, a district that works hard to advance apprenticeships, carpentry classes are almost a thing of the past. According to the woodworking teachers I’ve talked to, the kids see it as too much work. So, a natural desire to do as little as possible and a permissive education system create a perfect storm. In this climate, we are fighting an uphill battle to advance skills and training.
Thanks for your comment, Colin. Do you have any specific suggestions for how we might update our graduation requirements to address your concerns?
You might also be interested in following and contributing to the current conversation on the BC Jobs Plan website. Your post above is certainly relevant, especially if you can suggest some actionable ideas for making things better.
http://www.bcjobsplan.ca/discussions/how-can-british-columbias-young-people-build-a-successful-trades-or-technical-career-and-be-first-in-line-for-bc-jobs/
The solution to me is clear, but deeply unpopular amongst the progressives: reduce choice.
The assumption that adolescents are their own best career counselors is doing a lot of damage, and certain aspects of “21st century learning” will only make things worse.
Colin,
I found your comment “According to the woodworking teachers I’ve talked to, the kids see it as too much work.” very interesting.
I personally enjoy doing a lot of so-called old fashioned activities – such as growing my own vegetables, making jams/jellies/marmelades, canning and freezing produce, and all sorts of needlecrafts. When people of my age group (coming up to 50
) or younger find out that I’ve made the items, the biggest reaction I get is “Oh I can’t do something like that – it’s too much work”. I don’t get that reaction from people older than me.
I wonder if one of the reasons that the students feel things are too much work is that not only are they giving in to their natural desire to do as little as possible, but also because they are modelling the behaviours and attitudes of their parents/guardians.
Two important campaigns were launched yesterday to help promote skilled trades and technical careers in BC.
1. Skills for BC
Skills for BC is a public engagement campaign championed and hosted by Premier Clark. Each Thursday evening and Friday morning in November, the Premier will appear on Global TV (News Hour, News Hour Final, and The Morning News) asking British Columbians how we can build our workforce for the jobs that are being created at home. Each week the Premier will ask a new question on this topic and invite the public to share their ideas on the BC Jobs Plan website (www.bcjobsplan.ca). Each question will be open for discussion for two weeks. The top ideas from each question will be shared with the appropriate ministries for their consideration. The Premier will then ask British Columbians to help her choose the highest priority ideas from the ones that have been recommended to her by the various ministries. The Premier will work with idea creators to promote the ideas to whoever is best positioned to make them happen.
The Premier’s first first media spot ran last evening (Thursday November 1). Please visit the BC Jobs Plan website at the link below to watch the Premier’s announcement and to share your ideas on her first question:
How can British Columbia’s young people build a successful trades or technical career and be first in line for BC jobs?
http://www.bcjobsplan.ca/discussions/how-can-british-columbias-young-people-build-a-successful-trades-or-technical-career-and-be-first-in-line-for-bc-jobs
You can also follow the conversation and share your ideas on Twitter. Search for the hashtag #skills4BC.
2. Promoting Trades in Our Schools
John Yap, Minister of Advanced Education, Innovation and Technology, announced yesterday that the BC government is investing an additional $1.1 million to encourage youth to enter the trades. $675,000 of that money has been targeted for the Discover Trades BC program (http://www.discovertradesbc.ca/). This program, sponsored by the Trades Training Consortium of BC, provide easy access for secondary students to the many educational opportunities available to them in trades training. Students can explore a number of trades careers online, watch testimonials from other students, take a skills assessment, and much more. $125,000 has also been earmarked for preparing BC high school students, post-secondary students, and apprentices for the Skills Canada National Competition on June 5-6 in Vancouver. Regional competitions will be held across the province and the winners will advance to the national competition in June. This competition provides an opportunity for young Canadians studying a skilled trade or technology to be tested against exacting standards and against their peers from across the nation. Students vie to win the honour of being crowned the best in their chosen discipline. The final $300,000 will be used to support the Industry Training Authority in its efforts to engage employers and improve their participation in the training and hiring apprentices from post-secondary trades training programs. This will increase the employment opportunities available to students pursuing a trades career.
Please see our media release for more details on our promoting the trades initiative:
http://www.newsroom.gov.bc.ca/2012/11/bc-encouraging-students-to-consider-trades.html#.UJMIzaICa4k.twitter
We need more focus on apprenticeship training.
Many secondary schools offer training and apprenticeship opportunities through ACE IT and Secondary School Apprenticeship (SSA). Every year, over 3000 students participate in ACE IT and SSA. The Industry Training Authority invests in these programs, and has videos and case studies of high school students at http://itabc.ca/youth-trades/youth-news-videos.
We may need to do more, but suggestions about what we can do differently or more effectively, like the previous responses, are helpful.
Students do not have nearly enough access to know what jobs are even out there for them other than the classic “doctor, lawyer, nurse, teacher…etc” Without exposure, they are limited. Even using Career Cruising in Planning 10 only gives them a tiny sliver of the job prospects that are out there. Then, due to enrollment, the specialized classes are often dropped or not even run so students are not even allowed to dabble in other subjects areas. It’s no wonder our trades are suffering – has anyone seen the state of our shops in schools? Has anyone seen the budget we have for senior-level art classes (it’s 8 dollars per student per semester in my school) How can we run a meaningful technology class in a computer lab furnished with technology from ten years ago? We can’t, and so we get what we have now, thousands of kids getting Liberal Arts degrees in university and graduating to find no job.
I have stated in one of these forums before that I seriously think the Government needs to consider targeted funding for the school districts so that they can update the state of the technology shops in their schools. I teach woodwork and metalwork and I can assure you the equipment needs replacing in many school across the Province. I have been asking for new equipment for over 7 years. Most of the machines I have are from the 70′s, some are from the 50′s and 60′s. They are not abused, they are just worn out.
Every semester, I get a group of eager kids ready to learn some skills. They have heard the ads, they know there will be a shortage of trades people and my class is often their first experience in a trade environment. The unfortunate outcome though is that only half the equipment works and of the ones that do work, it turns out that creating a project successfully with them is a very difficult task. The machines are so worn out that many of the errors are not their fault at all. Most students in my class feel inadequate with their skills and they doubt their ability to be successful in the trade. I feel sorry for them that we can’t do better and the system doesn’t support them at the local level.
The kids in my school witness the replacement of computer labs every 3-4 years and they wonder why we can’t even get 1 piece of new equipment. It seems to send a strong message about what we value more.
Targeted funds or secondary level grants may be a solution.
As for general funding, the shop classes at my school has also seen a 25% decrease over the period of 5 years regardless of the fact the enrollment has increased in our courses. When the cost of materials and supplies have increased over the same time period it leaves little in the way of affordable project options.
I know I can increase the enrollment of kids entering the trades from my school, I just need the tools and materials to provide them a great experience so they feel confident in themselves.
About 20% of high school graduates pursue post-secondary College or University education after grade 12 graduation.
The rest engage in various activities, many of which involve earning money to live.
Co-op programs for people who take basic training in skilled trades, or just skilled jobs would be great.
Quebec has the CEGEP system that takes students after Grade 11 and they can pursue a career in many walks of life. If and when they wish to upgrade, frequently, they can move on without moving back to the beginning.
Case in point: A female student takes a one year course in a CEGEP in aesthetics. Doing nails, dying hair and some hair dressing. She finds that the mixing of dyes piques an interest in the chemical interactions that occur. So, she takes chemistry courses in a subsequent year, stepping into an academic stream. In due time, she ends up with a degree in nursing. No backpedalling, no requalifying, it flows from one experience to another. The discouragement of restarting something to pursue a dream does not block her progress. Ideally, such a system would be of great benefit to the students who would not have to invest money in doing more courses that they would necessarily have to pursue under the present circumstances. Agreements with professional associations, unions and provincial reguilators wpould have to be put in place to allow the smooth transitions that would expedite the path of future skilled workers into our work force and we wouldn’t have to go to Ireland to find these people.
Absolutely – great comment Mike. However, I would like this kind of program/model to start much earlier than Grade 11.
Case in point – my son told me that in his Grade 5 class, there are a couple of male students (just happen to be First Nations in this case) who for much of the day, sit in the classroom doing nothing at all (and the teacher, according to my son, seems to support this; I’ll hazard a guess that these individuals have some form of severe learning disability and/or mental illness). Regardless, how cruel to expect these little boys to just sit there feeling stupid (and bored out of their minds) all day long, while their peers forge ahead with their learning. Why don’t we have special vocational programs for kids like these; programs that would allow these kids to come home beaming with pride and eager to chat to their parents about all of the COOL things they learned (and learned TO DO) at school that day. How great for their self-esteem. Also, how great for these kids financially that they will be job-ready and able to enter the PAID workforce at a much younger age than their peers who attend a more traditional, academic-based school. They will have more years to earn money (i.e., won’t suffer the lost earnings opportunity costs suffered by kids who can’t work for 4-5 years while they are busy attending college/university), and they won’t need to incur large student debts. Also, since these kids will be more highly engaged each day in meaningful activities in which they CAN SUCCEED, they should have higher self-esteem and a personal vision for a happy and healthy future. These kids – all kids – are owed that!
It looks like from Heather’s comment we still need to educate on basic human rights and decency. What is gained from her comments by knowing the racial identity of these students? And the assumption that they are mentally deficient because???? Special schools for them? Did we not already have that system? Was it not filled with terrible abuse? And at grade 5 are we to tell children they cannot hope or dream to be anything more than we label them as?
Lulu,
I said: “there are a couple of male students (just happen to be 1st Nations in this case)” because this is the reality in my son’s class this year. However, in his grade two class, it was a little caucasian girl who was struggling and who could have benefitted from a vocational/skills-based school program. The criteria for entry into these programs s/b a student’s history of academic performance from ~ grades one through grades five, with race/ancestry, gender, etc. having absolutely no bearing on the placement decision. Lulu, I have a niece (now in grade eight, and who happens to be failing miserably in the traditional, academic-based school system) who I would love to see moved into a vocational/skills-based school program. This (above) all being said, you are correct Lulu; there was no need for, or value gained, in me pointing-out that the struggling kids in my son’s class this year are of 1st Nations ancestry (please see next comment below for some insight into what might have possessed me to state this and/or make this linkage).
Lulu, I am genuinely concerned about many of the 1st Nations children at my son’s school because I have gotten to know, and care deeply for, some of these children through my many years of volunteer work at the school (and it upsets me to see many of these children not thriving Lulu, as the annual FSA results support).
So, contrary to your assumptions Lulu, it is ‘SUCCESS for ALL children’ that I am interested in, and the status quo is definitely not the answer. On that note, perhaps you have some ideas Lulu that you would be willing to share with the forum?
Also, similar to your advice to me Lulu, please be more thoughtful in your choice of wording (i.e., And at grade 5 are we to tell children they cannot hope or dream to be anything more than we label them as?”) – sounds to me as if you are negatively stigmatizing trades/skills-based jobs. I know many people, including my own parents, grandparents, and in-laws who held trades/skills-based jobs who are every bit as proud and successful (and even more so financially I would say) than my husband and I with our fancy university and professional degrees. If I could do it over again, I would definitely consider a trade/technical career for myself.