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Many paths open: Flin Flon students explore career options

While their thoughts may still be on school, sports and games, students in one local school are participating in a program to help point the way toward a future career path.
Brett Grant and Riley Burroughs
École McIsaac students Brett Grant and Riley Burroughs experiment with a building activity at the career day held at the school last Wednesday. The activity introduced students to the concept of design in engineering and construction.

While their thoughts may still be on school, sports and games, students in one local school are participating in a program to help point the way toward a future career path. 

Students in grades 5 to 8 at École McIsaac School got a glimpse of diverse career paths through a pilot program called Exploring Options. 

Throughout the day Wednesday, Feb. 3, students circulated to several 40- to 80-minute sessions led by local and regional experts. Topics covered included entrepreneurship, skilled trades, geology and mining. 

In one Grade 7/8 classroom, Elizabeth Andres, administrative officer at the Northern Manitoba Mining Academy, and Eckart Buhlmann, an exploration geologist and instructor at the academy, led an intense session for a rapt audience.

Twenty-five stations were set up throughout the classroom, each with a quiz question, and hands-on props, related to mining careers, geological formations, or the development of minerals. Every two minutes, students moved to a new station to tackle a new question.

Buhlmann said he was impressed by the engagement level of the students. “You just need to make it interesting, to trigger their interest in mining and geology, “

“They just need a spark,” Eckhart said.

The day was organized by career development coordinator Alex Beasse, who works with the Flin Flon School Division, Frontier School Division area 4 and Kelsey School Division. She ran a similar event in Moose Lake in late 2015.

Michelle Pruder, Northern In-School Program Officer with Skills Canada Manitoba, ran a skilled trades session with Roland Misling, dean of the Trades and Technology faculty at UCN. 

Pruder and Misling’s session featured multiple stations where students sewed buttons, tried out pipe-fitting, constructed marshmallow-and-spaghetti creations, and decorated cookies. 

Each station was intended to give students some introductory insight into trades-related tasks.

“Our focus is on introducing kids to the skilled trades as a viable career option,” said Pruder.

Pruder said Skills Manitoba Canada is focusing on elementary and junior high students now, as there is expected to be a shortage of skilled tradespeople in the next five years. 

The aim is to provide students with positive, informative experiences with the trades, in the hopes that they will give trades-related careers a serious look when they start to make plans for the future.

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