By rdnewsNOW Staff

Hands-On Learning

First annual Try-a-Trade successful

May 30, 2023 | 4:02 PM

Chinook’s Edge School Division and Olds College, with the support of industry partners, launched its first annual Try-a-Trade program for grade eight students recently.

On May 17, Chinook’s Edge officials say 64 students from three Chinook’s Edge schools visited Olds College for a hands-on learning experience. Students from River Valley School (Sundre), École Deer Meadow (Olds), and Innisfail Middle School participated in activities related to Agriculture Technology, Landscape Horticulture, and Pipe Trades.

This year’s event was described as a trial, offering skilled trades that are already well established courses for Chinook’s Edge high school students. Organizers say they are hoping to branch out across other career pathways in the future, and to have students from throughout the division attend.

Officials say students responded to an anonymous survey about what they liked that day.

One said, “Landscaping was my favorite trade and if I was to do a trade it would be landscaping.”

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“My favorite experience of the day was making sprinklers after they taught us about plumbing,” wrote another student.

“Providing career-real, age-appropriate exploration of the skilled trades was our goal for this first ever day-long event at Olds College,” said Brianne Fletcher, Chinook’s Edge Career Connections Coordinator. “Early exploration with skilled trades help students be more career aware and ready for further training and opportunities in the future.”

Jackie Taylor, Director, Community Learning Campus, said, “Being able to explore career pathways in the middle years helps our students start to understand what career pathway is their best fit long before they reach Grade 12. When we are able to engage students with these types of career exploration and training opportunities, we see students perform to higher levels while in school and then more successfully transition to a chosen career training experience after high school. Students finding purpose and direction in their learning is ultimately the goal of why career exploration is so important for youth.”