Carson Launder looks comfortable in his hardhat.
Leading a pack of Belmont students through the construction site where the new Royal Bay secondary heads toward a Sept. 2015 opening, the 18-year-old electrical apprentice strides confidently shoulder-to-shoulder with Minister of Education Peter Fassbender.
B次元官网网址淚 think itB次元官网网址檚 pretty cool. IB次元官网网址檒l be able to say this (school) will stand for 50 more years and maybe even my kids will end up going here,B次元官网网址� Launder said of Royal Bay. B次元官网网址淲hen I first came in I didnB次元官网网址檛 know (anything) of electrical. I didnB次元官网网址檛 even know what wires were. I knew nothing and now they are trusting me with bigger jobs and IB次元官网网址檝e learned quite a bit.B次元官网网址�
The minister stopped by to visit the school and meet youth like Launder firsthand. He and others interested in learning the trades hands-on have benefitted from programming including the Accelerated Credit Enrolment Industry Training (ACE IT) and the Secondary School Apprenticeship (SSA) programs.
The 2014 Belmont graduate took a residential construction class in his last year of high school alongside 17 others and said almost the entire class got jobs right away. Not only that, the electrical apprentice has already been told he will have a job even when both Royal Bay and Belmont secondaries are complete. As such, he canB次元官网网址檛 say enough about the construction programs.
B次元官网网址淚 think lots of kids are saying B次元官网网址榳ow, this is a great opportunity for me. I can learn while making money and I can go there and work.B次元官网网址� I think itB次元官网网址檚 cool B次元官网网址� itB次元官网网址檚 hands on,B次元官网网址� the Langford resident said. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 better than sitting in class for someone like me.B次元官网网址�
Launder isnB次元官网网址檛 the only one and Belmont secondary vice-principal Mike Huck said the programs have been an excellent fit for many students he has seen come through Belmont. He expects that to continue when he takes over as vice-principal at Royal Bay.
B次元官网网址淲e get some kids that are going through the motions and once in a while you kinda see a kid that is more geared towards these trades. ItB次元官网网址檚 a simple sell once you do show them what they can do and what they can accomplish,B次元官网网址� Huck said. B次元官网网址淎 lot of kids donB次元官网网址檛 know the way they want to go, but once you get them on a site and explain the options, they are all for it. They do an amazing job.B次元官网网址�
Not only are many young apprentices getting a major leg up starting their journeys at 18 instead of 24 or 25, he said, students are also benefitting from working in the field and discovering what it is like to be on a job site. Huck said heB次元官网网址檚 seen significant growth in the students who have participated firsthand.
B次元官网网址淲hen we first brought that group of kids over here, you could tell they were high school students and kind of deer in the headlights sort of thing. But within a week or two they were full-blown workers and you couldnB次元官网网址檛 even tell they were secondary apprentices anymore.B次元官网网址�
Sooke School District superintendent Jim Cambridge fully supports the programs and said the students choosing the trades can be just as bright and highly skilled as any others. He added that itB次元官网网址檚 great to see the government backing an area of study that has not been supported as much in the past.
B次元官网网址淧ast thinking was if you donB次元官网网址檛 go to college you arenB次元官网网址檛 going to get a career and we know thatB次元官网网址檚 not true,B次元官网网址� Cambridge said. B次元官网网址淲e know there are lots of kids that are really interested in hands-on learning and want to take it.B次元官网网址�
Grade 11 Belmont student Aleah Simensen is one of those students. Although she is the only female in her class pursuing auto body painting, she appreciates the opportunity to help pinpoint her passion.
B次元官网网址淚 love working with my hands, I love cars (and) I wouldnB次元官网网址檛 be able to sit in an office all day, I donB次元官网网址檛 really have that attention span to be honest,B次元官网网址� she said.
B次元官网网址�(There are) times you know, school doesnB次元官网网址檛 really work out for (students) and then they find this and it really gives them a start at life. I found something that I love and will be able to do for the rest of my life and live comfortably. I will be able to pay my bills, have fun and wake up every morning and love what I do.B次元官网网址�
alim@goldstreamgazette.com
