Chinook's Edge School Division is giving its high school students a head start on their careers with three new partnerships that will provide them with work experience.
“It's always a struggle to say, what do you want to be when you grow up. So what we like to do is give kids almost a pathway that they have a chance to explore and say, I wonder if this is for me,” said Lissa Steele, associate superintendent of learning services for Chinook's Edge School Division.
“So we're really looking at that notion of careers, career counselling and how we can give kids some opportunities, almost a step up.”
On June 25, the school board discussed the three new partnerships at its final meeting before the summer holidays.
Two will be part of dual credit courses, where high school students can work for college credit.
The first agreement is with School Within a College and Red Deer College. Under this arrangement, students will work toward an automotive technician certificate.
The second dual credit course will be offered in collaboration with Sky Wings Aviation and Red Deer College. Students will take a management certificate course and receive ground training for a private pilot's licence.
Lastly, students can get training as automotive service technicians through a partnership with Cam Clark Ford in Red Deer.
Steele said all three programs were recently finalized and will be in effect for the next school year.
She added that private partners have been receptive to working with the school system.
“They have been so open,” she said. “They have a need. They look at their workforce and say, you know what? We're going to need some automotive techs and you can help us and we can help you. So it's really a mutual partnership.”
Under the Cam Clark Ford agreement, students will be paid for their work, Steele said. But they must submit a cover letter and resume to the dealership's human resources department as well as go through a formal interview.
So far, there have been three applicants, she said.
“We want them to take these opportunities seriously because it's really a privilege to do,” she said.
The school division will pay for students' tuition at Red Deer College as they work toward registered apprenticeships.
Chinook's Edge School Division has been offering dual credit programming for five years now, mostly out of Olds College in the fields of hairdressing, welding and carpentry.
“The kids who have entered that have really found that they have a passion for it so we can get them started early on a career if that's where they'd like to go,” Steele said. “Or, they might have a chance to say you know what, this isn't for me and look elsewhere and that's just as important.”
Steele said the board struck a deal with Red Deer College because it needed partnerships in the northern region of the school division.
