LISTOWEL – When it comes to the skilled trades, there are literally limitless opportunities for students to take advantage of. And in a time when there are labour shortages of not only tradespeople but in every work sector across the board, the next generation coming up has never been more important to fill the gaps.
Listowel District Secondary School (LDSS) was renowned for its tech department long before trades labour shortages really became known in the mainstream. And as the industry has evolved so too has the school, expanding its curriculum offerings from simply just auto, machine and woodworking ‘shops’ to encompassing all facets of the tech sector.
Earlier in the school year, LDSS students had the opportunity to experience what working in the manufacturing sector might look like when they visited the Tri-Mach Group Ltd. facility in Elmira. A company on the leading edge locally for in-house custom innovation and fabrication of a variety of stainless steel products used in sectors such as food production, Tri-Mach is accommodating a number of area high schools to help deliver a firsthand and real-world educational experience to students who may be interested in a career across a variety of areas.
“With the courses that I’m taking, it was an eye-opener for me, for sure,” commented Grade 12 student Ella Coverdale, who is enrolled in the Manufacturing Specialist High Skills Major (SHSM) at LDSS. “The field trip was at a big facility, and it was obviously a real-world thing. It really gave me a look into what work would like in that certain area. I would like to go into that area, so it benefitted me to see how everything works; the operation, the planning that goes into everything beforehand.”
The introduction of SHSM certifications into the high school curriculum has greatly benefitted students like Coverdale. First introduced at LDSS in 2007, SHSMs allow students to receive qualifications and take specific courses based around a particular field they want to focus on. A SHSM certification not only looks good on a resume and is attractive to potential employers after high school, but also carries direct financial benefits for students entering post-secondary education.
LDSS tech students visit the Tri-Mach Group Ltd. manufacturing facility in Elmira on Sept. 30. While there, students were presented with a number of potential career opportunities across a variety of trades, including welding, millwrighting, metal fabrication and machining. (Submitted photo)
Construction was the first SHSM on the scene, later followed by manufacturing, health and wellness, business, and most recently agriculture.
“You’ve got a resume that’s better than many,” said LDSS Tech Department Head Marcel van Leeuwen of the SHSM programs. “I think it’s made a difference. Just that connection through co-op and particularly being able to connect them with industry has definitely made an impact.
“Let’s be honest, the amount of opportunities in all areas, including tech, is significant. They’re looking for people all over the place. There’s no lack of jobs.”
Zachary Bowles is a Grade 12 student enrolled in the Construction SHSM, and also attended the Sept. 30 field trip to Tri-Mach. With aspirations of potentially becoming an engineer, what Bowles saw at the facility was appealing.
“It was cool seeing the designing,” he said. “I’m trying to go into an engineering trade, so it was nice seeing what the mechanical side of engineering there was looking like and how they would prepare for the manufacturing of the items.”
Rachel Ratcliffe, 15, also went on the Tri-Mach excursion. A Grade 10 student, she will be eligible to select a SHSM next year is she chooses to pursue that aspect of her tech education.
“I thought it was cool to see how everything works… what it looks like, and how everything was laid out,” she said. “I’m not completely sure of what I want to do after school, but when I got to see (Tri-Mach) it maybe swayed me more towards doing something similar. It was a good experience and a good trip.”
LDSS tech students visit the Tri-Mach Group Ltd. manufacturing facility in Elmira on Sept. 30. While there, students were presented with a number of potential career opportunities across a variety of trades, including welding, millwrighting, metal fabrication and machining. (Submitted photo)
Ken Bailey retired as a high school educator in 2017. A long-time LDSS tech teacher, he helped bring about the opportunity for students to visit Tri-Mach through his upstart education consulting business following retirement. His son is also a product innovation manager at Tri-Mach.
Bailey commented that in addition to being impressed by how the LDSS group conducted itself during the visit, he was also pleased to see the amount of female students that took part. Approximately one-third of the group were female, a ratio that Bailey admits was not nearly as close when he was teaching.
“It varied depending on which shop,” he said. “In the auto shop where I was, there were one, maybe two girls in each class. The girls were especially good at the precision stuff like machining and woodworking. They were a little more careful about getting things right.
“I was really proud of these guys, I really was. My career was working with 16 and 17-year-olds, and sometimes they’re not as enthusiastic about some things as you would like. These guys were really good; they represented this school perfectly. They were very engaged. These guys had really good questions.”
The field trip with a manufacturing focus had been on Bailey and van Leeuwen’s radar for more than a couple years, before the pandemic derailed their initial plans. The Sept. 30 outing to Tri-Mach was the first time the tech department was able to arrange something of that nature since the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020, and it was evidently worth the wait. Opportunities in such areas as welding, millwrighting and machining were all prevalent for those who took part.
“It went well,” said van Leeuwen. “The students were very interested and very engaged, and I see the result of that now. There’s a lot of interest from my students in manufacturing; they see what can be done in that field.”
In relation to Tri-Mach specifically, van Leeuwen added, “They’re looking for people who are willing to work at a good job for a good wage, and develop their career with this company. I know (the students) realized that before they left.”
Tri-Mach Group Ltd. CEO Krystal Darling agreed with that perception.
“Skilled trades has long faced a perception problem, and this perception needs to shift,” she said in an email comment to the Banner. “At Tri-Mach Group, Skilled Trades Excellence is one of our strategic pillars. For us, this begins with educating high school students on the opportunities available for them by providing a first-hand look into a career in the skilled trades. Having hosted over 200 students already and many more to come, our hope is to increase awareness and promote everything the skilled trades can offer, especially to underrepresented identity groups, including women.
“The reality is that a profession in the skilled trades provides a secure, high-paying, and rewarding career which will be in high demand for decades to come.”
Bailey explained that perhaps just as important as presenting tech career options to students, is also delivering a supportive message to their parents. A message that a career in skilled trades is extremely worthwhile and rewarding, should that be the path they choose, and that an automatic push towards university is not always the best course for every student.
“Life is going to be OK if your kid decides that they want to be a plumber,” said Bailey. “Everybody wants their kid to go to university and have a white-collar job, but the reality is that’s just not what happens.
“At the end of the day as a parent, all you want is that your kid is doing something in life that they’re happy with. That gives them contentment. That’s the very nature of the trades.”
