Black Gold celebrates first graduates of the Collegiate program
Black Gold is celebrating the first group of students to complete the division’s Collegiate Program. The students will leave high school with a head start on their career pathway in the skill trades - specifically carpentry - and they have grown in confidence too.
“We’re pretty thrilled to have students reach this point,” says Justin Klaassen, Principal of Calmar Secondary Collegiate School, where the Collegiate program is hosted for the division. “We’ve had a vision of students having access to learning in the skilled trades. It’s great to see that vision come to fruition. With a taste of post-secondary now, we can see that these students will have a confident transition into the next steps on their career pathway.”
The three students will have completed their Period one in Carpentry post-secondary training by the end of June, having taken both a written and practical exam. As a result, it is anticipated the students will be two to three years ahead of peers that start training after high school. One student is from Thorsby Junior Senior High School (TJSHS). The other two students both come from Breton - outside of Black Gold.
“Having their first period complete will help move their apprenticeship along, and the students will not have to go back to [their post secondary school] until their second year,” says Jim Wallis, a teacher at CSCS. “The Collegiate gives students an opportunity to complete their trades programming training in a Collegiate space closer to home and in a smaller class size than what you would typically see at post secondary training institutions.”
Justin Sherwood, Red Seal Carpenter and instructor for the Collegiate, says he appreciates the Collegiate opportunity. “If the students continue the apprenticeship path in this trade, they will be fully ticketed in the province, and possibly be Red Seal by the time they are 20 to 21 years old, which takes most people a minimum of being 23 to 24 years old,” he says.
Sherwood has seen a lot of progression in the students’ confidence and skills. “When they first entered there was a slight hesitancy with the tools, and the stack of books in front of them. Throughout the course [of the program] they showed many times the knowledge that they gained, in their shop projects and in conversations with them. From when they started to where they ended they have shown incredible amounts of improvement.” In fact, according to Sherwood, the students are so skilled that two of them are currently working on a framing crew.
Ethan, a student from TJSHS, says, “Being the first to accomplish this course feels great. It means I can continue my dream of getting my Red Seal in carpentry. I think it is very important that younger people have a chance of getting some trade experience and are able to get into it. Trades also are always going to be busy and need people because these jobs are what keep our day to day life going.”
Wallis says even if future students choose not to pursue a trade that they studied, there is a benefit. “After completing a collegiate program they learn lifelong skills that will help them down the line.”
CSCS continues to see the number of students participating in the Collegiate increase. The program is open to any Black Gold high school student.
Left to Right: Ethan Dobko from Thorsby Jr / Sr High School, Nathan Savard from Breton, Zoe Bryanton from Breton
