On Thursday, February 20th , the welding department at NOVA had the pleasure of hosting three students from New Frontiers’ PASS program. The Providing Alternative Student Support Program (PASS) caters to specific students (Grades 7 – 11), helping them in their lifelong learning by making available, amongst other things, out of school vocational training experiences.
The three students Tristen Green ,Tyler Whalley and Jahvon Bloomfield chose welding as the trade they wanted to explore. The 3 spent the day in three stages.
They spent the day with nine students from the welding program. The first part of the morning was spent with some students from the senior class doing some Gas Metal Arc Welding . The second part of the day was spent with some students from the rookie class doing Shielded Metal Arc Welding and torch cutting. The day ended with students from the middle class doing Fluxcore Arc Welding and more torch cutting.
Not only did the three students experience most welding and cutting processes taught at the Nova Career Centre it was also excellent exposure to the working world and how important it is to remain in school. This coincided with last week’s “Semaine de la perseverence scolaire”, a program that encourages students to remain in school. This will also help them find good paying jobs in the future and become contributing members of society. Presently there is a shortage of trades people, a problem that will only get worse as the population ages. We should encourage the young people of today to take an interest in the trades so these jobs of the future can be filled by properly educated young adults.
When the day was over the Nova students who spent time with these youngsters from our high schools were given an informal survey to complete.
The overall consensus from the “mentors of the day” was that these students were very enthusiastic. Some of them noticed that the PASS students had a knack for the trade. They also said that they were inquisitive and enjoyed that day. It was a great pleasure to have these three young people spend time with us in welding. We hope to see them back here in the not so distant future, and please remember that the welding and fitting trade is not gender specific, it is open to all who might show an interest in the trade. The welding staff and NOVA management encourage this.
Jules Simoneau and Ron Wilkinson – Welding teachers, NOVA Career Centre