By meadowlakeNOW

SkillsCanada sessions teach MLTC students hands-on trades

Feb 1, 2018 | 6:07 PM

Beading, photography, plumbing, coding and public speaking. These are just a few skills students from across northern Saskatchewan got to try their hands at as part of a two-day ‘try-a-trade’ workshop at the Flying Dust First Nation.

Hosted by SkillsCanada Saskatchewan, along with Meadow Lake Tribal Council (MLTC), students heard from experts and then got to participate in hands-on workshops .

Led by professionals in the various fields, the students receive a brief demonstration and speech about what led the session leaders to their career path, then they try the tasks on their own. On Jan. 31, 40 students from Grades 5 to 8 took part, and today 40 high school students from as far away as Clearwater River Dene Nation travelled to the Flying Dust gym.

Rick Clark, program manager with SkillsCanada, said storytelling is an important facet with these sessions.

“We really try to get local tradespeople,” he said. “The stories are important, with our youth, especially in the north, is the journey of how they got to where they are. So, from La Loche to Meadow Lake, lots of places in between… I try to provide opportunities.”  

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MLTC will be hosting the northern regional competition on March 14 at Northwest Regional College in Meadow Lake. The winners from regional competitions across Saskatchewan qualify for the provincials in Regina in April. Nationals take place in Edmonton in June, and winners from there can qualify for the next global final which takes in Russia in 2020.

Clark said the various levels of competition are attainable, as five students from Saskatchewan went to Abu Dhabi last fall. He said students can go so far by learning skills, trades and technology.

“We think our youth are worth investing in,” he said. “We think the best kind of learning is hands-on, and I just see it in their faces.”

Natasha Martynes, owner of Marz Plumbing in Saskatoon, led a session on how to solder pipes together. Martynes said she became a plumber to support herself and her son several years ago, and built her business from the ground up. She said she enjoys interacting with students and sharing her story.

“We get the students to get actively involved,” Martynes said. “Some students said they didn’t like sitting at a desk all day at school, so this kind of learning is a little bit different. I am also an advocate for women in trades, and any kind of program like this, skills and trades, I like to pump it out a lot. With my customers, when we go into their homes, while we’re doing the work, we’ll show and explain how to take care of their homes.”

And according to the students themselves, they also enjoyed the workshops.

“It was fun, I enjoyed myself, and I met new friends,” said Raelynn Couillonneur from Dillon. “Beading one was my favourites, because we made dreamcatchers.”

kathy.gallant@jpbg.ca  

On Twitter @ReporterKath