by Heidi Hackman & Colleen McNamee, District Career Coordinators, SD 63 | photo by Kathryn Alvarez Photography –
We usually feature a student excelling in the trades in this column. However, as career educators, we’ve chosen to showcase different opportunities this month that align with the focus of our Provincial government which is actively working to address the challenge of job creation and labour shortages in various professions. Specifically, we are shining a spotlight on Early Learning and Care (ELC).
Last year the South Island Partnership was successful in securing a grant to try and fix this shortage and, at the same time, respond to our students that are still looking for future avenues in which to direct their interests. This particular program has proven to be very successful. The idea was to have students take one or two courses in the ELC program, without committing to the full program. Once the classes were underway, three Saanich students decided to take the full program, exactly what we were hoping for.
Amy Paul wants to be a kindergarten teacher but thought that having an ECE background would be a great place to start. “My career teacher convinced me to go on a field trip and once I saw the space I would be learning in, I decided to try the course.” On that field trip, 30 students from across the Victoria, Saanich and Sooke school districts participated and were able to tour the campus, meet the instructors and see where the learning would be taking place. Of those 30 students, only one had previously been on campus.
Maria Hatizilaskaris wasn’t sure what she was going to do after grade 12 but liked the idea that by taking one class she had the option of becoming an ECE assistant. Finding out that her friend Amy was also taking the course made her more confident about signing up.
SIDES student Majda Rashid was only in grade 11 when she took two courses last January. Her career teacher, Rhiannon Cockayne, got Majda to write an English assessment so that she could take these two courses. Majda worked hard to complete her graduation requirements so that she could take the program this fall. She was initially worried about being younger than the other students but she met Amy and Maria and the three of them became fast friends. This fall the trio have been speaking to administrators, students and teachers to share their experiences and talk about their initial apprehensions and how happy they are that they took the plunge.
Maria said “to have one or two courses out of the way has made my first semester so much easier. My transition to Camosun has gone better than I imagined because my course load is less.”
In October, 90 students went on the field trip to tour the Early Learning and Care program. Word travels fast. With such a large number of interested participants it was a very good indicator that this sector is on its way to not only filling its labour shortage, but also to stimulating interest in a program that is very appealing to many of our students.
