N.W.T. education officials open to Poilievre's proposed trades program for high school students
Some education officials in the N.W.T. say they're open to federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre's idea of a new pre-trades program for students, but it isn't clear yet how that program would work alongside what's already in place in the N.W.T.
At a rally in Yellowknife on the weekend, Poilievre promised to introduce a pre-trades program for N.W.T. high school students if his party wins the next election.
"Imagine if we said that we get the Red Seal council, that has been in place for 74 years, [and] put together a high school module for every licensed trade," Poilievre said, referring to the certification program for tradespeople across Canada.
A similar program already exists in the N.W.T.: the Schools North Apprenticeship Program (SNAP), which has been running since 1995.
Dean McInnis, principal of École Sir John Franklin High School in Yellowknife, says schools work with the education department to set up pre-apprenticeship training for students. Those students get work experience in the trades with local businesses as a first step toward Red Seal certification.
"We have had kids in automotive, parts, plumbing, and electrical, those kinds of organizations in town," McInnis said.
It's not clear yet how the Conservative leader's proposed program would work alongside what's already in place in the N.W.T., and with education being a territorial responsibility. In an email to CBC News, a Conservative Party spokesperson said details of the plan would be revealed ahead of the next election.
Federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre speaking at a rally in Yellowknife last weekend. (Sarah Krymalowski/CBC)
N.W.T. Education Minister Caitlin Cleveland said she is open to discussing more support for trades with whoever Canadians choose as the next government.
"I'm very interested in supporting this, if it means the Northwest Territories receives additional support for trades across the territory," Cleveland said.
Cleveland said there is a need for more skilled tradespeople in the territory, to help address the demand for housing and critical infrastructure.
Need for budget boosters for high school pre-trades programs
Cindy Kimove, assistant principal of career and trades development at Yellowknife's École St. Patrick High School, said Poilievre's pitch is an interesting one that could help high school students pursuing trades.
"If it offered subsidized training programs or housing for students who need to travel to go to trades programs, anything like that, I think would be really helpful," Kimove said.
She said her school has had an in-house trades program for 20 years: the Kimberlite Career and Technical Centre. It offers welding and metalwork, mechanics, power technology, carpentry and woodworking, to name a few.
"It's run directly by the school, but kids take our classes and then determine that they're interested in the SNAP program," Kimove said.
She explained that after this, counsellors from the education department connect the students to a SNAP placement in the community.
Kimove said one essential way the federal government could help promote trades among the youth is by providing grants and budget boosters to high schools that offer such programs.
"We could really use funding for things like consumables. If we're teaching carpentry, nails are really expensive. Getting those things for students, and getting enough for everyone to try," Kimove said.
She said there is a shortage of tradespeople in the North, and this could help steer students to fill that void.
Interest in trades has increased
A territorial government official says the number of high school students interested in trades has increased significantly in recent years.
Steve St. Pierre, the director of labour development and standards at the N.W.T. government, said the number of students registering for the SNAP program has increased significantly over the last few years.
"We've seen a substantial increase in participation, growing from no students in the program in 2016 to 54 as of last month — so that's a positive sign," St. Pierre said.
He attributes this growth to extensive promotion and efforts by education advisers in communities to raise interest in trades among students, as well as increased outreach to employers.
