Nanaimo-Ladysmith school district and the road construction and maintenance industry want to let students know the trades are an employment path they can travel down.
The B.C. Road Builders and Heavy Construction Association, a non-profit advocating for the road-building and maintenance industry, brought its 'Road Show' trailer to Cedar Secondary School on Thursday, Jan. 30, giving students a chance to try out heavy-duty equipment simulators.
Matt Pitcairn, association president, told the News Bulletin that within the industry, heavy equipment operators, heavy-duty mechanics and snow plow operators are particularly in demand. There aren't many skills needed to start a career, he said.
"If you've got the right attitude, you're willing to show up, you have good work ethic, you can enter a job site, start the labour and be operating junior heavy equipment within no time," said Pitcairn. "So there's not a lot of barriers to entry within the civil construction industry."
The school district's career technical centre allows students to transition from high school into careers, according to Dave Travers, district careers principal. Students are allowed to leave their high school and head to Vancouver Island University and get their foundation training before getting their secondary school diploma, he said.
Chelsea Jones, a Grade 12 student eyeing a career in the trades, is taking part in heavy equipment operator training at VIU. Her interest was piqued at a Road Show stop last year and because she grew up around that sort of equipment.
"I'm going to specialize in loader, and then maybe in a couple years, go back and do excavator," said Jones. "But for now, I'm going to do loader, hopefully getting some gravel pits and make some topsoil, make some gravel. Some fun stuff."
Ashton Wolfe, a Grade 12 student who is working at Lafarge Canada also had his interest spurred when visiting the trailer last year.
"There was the excavator and the loader that really helped me want to [pursue] a career in that and really made me see what the whole job is about and what I would be doing, and I really enjoyed that, so that's my path now," he told the News Bulletin.
He wants to work at Lafarge for a bit before returning to school and work with heavy-duty equipment.
"That's the end goal for sure … The more you know, the better it is, the more versatile you are," Wolfe said.
Tom Rokeby, school trustee, said the school board has work to do to promote the trades as an option after graduation. In the past, people who had family members in the trades "may have naturally gravitated towards these opportunities," he said.
"We have to make sure that students who don't have those familial connections can take advantage of these opportunities … The industry and building association is partnering with the ministry because there's such a demand. We're not actually able to put the infrastructure that B.C. needs in as quickly as we would like to, because we have to fill these jobs," he said.
Sheila Malcolmson, B.C. minister of social development and poverty reduction, said her ministry is working to address the need for tradespeople.
"My ministry through our Work B.C. centres and other programs will pay a training wage, pay the course fees, and then if they need some special equipment at the end of the day to be able to step into that work, and then maybe get a bit of coaching to make sure that they can keep that job," she said.
