Colleagues, this past September I had to travel to Fort Smith for personal reasons when I ran into the trades awareness coordinator, and he informed me that their fall introductory program was taking place at Aurora College. As we discussed the program, he reminded me the purpose of the program was to provide grade 9 to 12 students with an awareness to trades occupations through a one-week hands-on experience at the College in trades such as carpentry, cooking, gairdressing, plumbing, electrical, mechanics, mining, welding, communications, and aviation.
A couple highlights of the conversation were:
There are a host of success stories where northern students exposed to trades have gone on to pursue careers in the trade of their choice.
The trades awareness program provides opportunities for high school students to explore and experience the world of trades in a college setting while considering future opportunities for a viable career.
After the conversation, he informed me that two young ladies from Liidlii Kue Regional High School won top student awards in their respective trades. After hearing this, he told me that the closing ceremonies where happening the next day and asked if I would be interested in attending.
The next morning, I went to watch as the trades awareness instructors celebrated 48 youth from the South Slave and Deh Cho who completed the program and witness seven students win top student certification and prizes. Before the awards ceremony, I witnessed the trades olympics. It was amazing to see the students use the skills they were taught throughout the week. The winner of the competition was Connor Landry from Dehgah School from Ft. Providence.
After the competition, we went to the concourse to hand out the awards. Much to my surprise, the two winners from the Nahendeh region were Addyson Erasmus, who was the top student in carpentry; and, my granddaughter Paige Isiah-Tanche who was top student in the mine training and equipment.
As well, I would also like to congratulate two participants from the Deh Cho riding, Chief Sunrise School, for winning their trade. Amy Norn was the top student in cooking and Emily Norn was the top student in welding. These trades winners represent the sometimes-untapped potential that exists in our small communities. Congratulations to all the participants and for the college for offering this great opportunity for our youth. Thank you.
