Whether you’re a high school student with questions about your future or a young adult curious about how to turn your skills into a new business, Skills Canada Newfoundland and Labrador is ready to connect you with possibilities you might not have considered yet.
Throughout the pandemic, Skills Canada NL has stayed true to its mission to expand young people’s understanding of the skilled trades market, and now it’s organizing its first-ever virtual provincial skills competition — spotlighting more than 300 youth from across the province.
Running April 19-24, the online competition will include both high school and post-secondary students, competing in everything from 3D digital game art and graphic design to baking and welding. Skills Canada NL will also be hosting its first-ever virtual career fair — Navigate: A Virtual Career Exploration — on April 20, 2021. Students and career-seekers can visit virtual booths of local businesses and education centres, and take in a series of webinars and information sessions.
‘THERE ARE OTHER OPTIONS OUT THERE’
In addition to helping students gain valuable experience in the skilled trades, the competition is designed to help connect young people with the broader world of the skilled trades — which often includes expanding what it is they think of as trades in the first place.
“We want students to know there are a variety of valid career paths available to them, and the goal should be finding something that they are passionate about, or building on interests they already have” says Skills Canada NL President Christine Greene. “We want them to know that a pathway towards the skilled trades or technology sectors can lead to a rewarding and fruitful career. There are so many options available to students, and we strive to provide them with information and resources for those different options.”
Greene says that while it can sometimes be challenging to find a career in your chosen field no matter the education pathway you took to get there, if you are truly passionate about your future, and are well informed about the options, you will increase your opportunity for success. Skills Canada NL is committed to helping young people see that the skilled trades and tech sectors are viable and desirable options and uses targeted workshops and programs, as well as annual competitions, to help students access the necessary information as possible to make their decision.
WORK WITH YOUR HANDS
“We’re trying to engage students and career-seekers through activities so they can see it’s working with your hands, it’s being able to use critical thinking,” Greene explains. “And it’s fun — it’s a fun option for them.”
Many of their targeting programs are about expanding what, and who, can find a passion and a career in the skilled trades. Skills Canada NL’s Skilled Futures for Women program exists to help more women have exposure to trades education — something Greene says, sadly, was not presented as an option for many women, years ago — and Skills Canada NL’s ENTER:Preneur program caters to those who want to use their existing skills to launch their own business.
Skills Canada NL’s work is all about providing options.
“There are so many careers and job paths under the ‘skilled trades and technology’ umbrella that you don’t even think of — like ‘graphic designer’ or ‘baker,’” Greene says. “Once they see the different options and they’re asking questions, it just opens up a lot of doors that they didn’t know existed.”
She says it’s all about creating better connections between the wide-ranging skilled trades industry and potential new talent. That growth — young people connecting with employment, mentors connecting with mentees, people finding their dream career path — is what keeps people coming back to Skills Canada NL’s events, and career exploration events, year after year.
“We’ve had people that have been doing this since Skills Canada NL began in 1998, and they keep coming back because they really believe in the message, and they really enjoy being able to see the impact that they immediately have with these students,” says Greene. “Students go through the competitions, and then they start working in the field — so we get to see it from the beginning right up to their skills coming to fruition."
Skills Canada Newfoundland and Labrador encourages youth to explore the growing opportunities in skilled trades and technology careers by offering an immersive approach to learning. This year’s online competition will take place virtually from April 19-24, 2021. Visit skillscanadanl.ca for more information.
