THUNDER BAY – Students from across Northwestern Ontario got a chance to try out future job opportunities on Thursday at the CLE Coliseum.
The Level Up Skilled Trades Career Fair made a stop in Thunder Bay as part of their provincial tour to address the growing demand for skilled trades across Ontario.
“The idea for us is what if we can have these students with the knowledge of the skilled trades when they enter into secondary school, they have a clear idea of a career path they want to go down and they could take the appropriate classes that will help them as they get ready for post-secondary schools,” said Roger Drcar, who is the specialized high school major lead for Lakehead Public Schools and a recruiter for the Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program.
“As we all know, there’s a shortage and there continues to be a shortage in the skill trades, so events like this are a really great way to get the students thinking about those types of jobs.”
There was a little something for everyone for students from Grades 7 to 12 to do on Thursday.
They ranged from hands-on activities that were put on by the Operating Engineers Training Institute of Ontario and the Ontario Professional Hairstylist Association, along with a variety of virtual reality activities inside the Skills Ontario Trades & Tech Truck.
“You can hear all of the (noise) from everything that the students can do here,” Drcar said. “They are really attracted to things that are hands-on like that.”
Morgan Murphy, who is a spokesperson for the Ontario Mining Association, said that the students’ interest in pursuing a skilled trade is what has stood out to her so far on the tour.
“They are all curious and I think it is incumbent on all of us here to really hone in on what that curiosity looks like and make it engaging for them,” Murphy added.
“Once they can touch and feel these opportunities, the world is their oysters. I’ve been super blown away with how energetic the students are and how much they know already.”
