Tuesday December 6, 2022 | LANGFORD, BC
SOOKE SCHOOL DISTRICT NEWS | by Mary P Brooke | Island Social Trends
A long presentation about the many components of career training in School District 62 (SD62) happened at this evening’s SD62 Education Policy Committee meeting.
The discussion covered overall concepts and goals, then moved into a trades training discussion.
It was refreshing to hear that career education in K-12 has caught up to the reality that people are happiest (and best equipped for making a living) if they set a life purpose (i.e “who they want to be”) as opposed to gunning toward a particular type of job.
The world is rapidly changing due to technology, global economic forces, climate change and dramatic shifts in social norms.
Jim Lamond, District Principal, Pathways and Choice said tonight that today’s youth are likely to have six or seven careers ahead of them in their working life, as the world changes. “We’re shifting the narrative as to who you want to be,” said Lamond to the group assembled at the board office and zooming in online via MS Teams.
Career development overview:
Career development, intellectual development, and human and social development are the broad strokes. The reasons for teaching career education were listed as: equity, start early, improve learning outcomes, improve student futures, meet future needs.
Through all grades:
Whereas career planning used to be something only addressed in the latter years of high school, now the approach starts in Kindergarten through Grade 5 doing hands-on projects and literacy-based lessons, with a shift to activities like robotics clubs and using 3D printers in Grades 6 to 8, and then Skills Canada competitions, hands-on classes (like woodworking and welding) in Grades 9 to 12.
Constants through all of K-12 are teacher support as well as Career Education Curriculum Support and Implementation. For Grades 6 to 12 there is use of “myBlueprint” (new for Grades 6 to 8) and parent/community info sessions.
Funding:
In a presentation this evening by Jim Lamond, District Principal, Pathways and Choice, he mentioned the funding received from ITA (Skilled Trades BC) which in SD62 enables training in collaboration with Camosun College. He emphasized partnerships with industry sectors and the community.
Lamond promoted SIP (South Island Partnerships) which a get-together of career-planning reps from five school districts in the region (SD61, SD62, SD62, SD64 and SD79), as a way to share best practices.
There was an interesting comment from a representative of the post-secondary sector at an economic outlook meeting with the BC Finance minister yesterday, as to the strain of ITA on trades in the active workplace; the time it takes to offer apprenticeship can slow down a business or an active infrastructure project. But the economy needs trained workers, so it’s going to be a back-and-forth series of shifts to achieving the right balance.
Lamond emphasized the importance of building partnerships with industry and community. Presented as if a new idea about public education: “We’re in the business of learning.”
Lamond played a video about a visit to the TASK welding class at Royal Bay Secondary in Colwood and an industry partnership with the Canadian Welding Foundation, that was held back in May 2022.
Education Policy Committee:
The SD62 Education Policy Committee is chaired by now second-term trustee Allison Watson (recently re-elected in the Sooke side of the school district).
Three other SD62 trustees attending the committee tonight were new trustees Cendra Beaton in the room, as well as Russ Chipps and Trudy Spiller online (all elected in the Belmont Zone in Langford/Colwood/Metchosin/Highlands).
===== RELATED:
Economists see housing, trades training, and risk-vs-uncertainty as key challenges in 2023 (December 6, 2022)
SD62 Superintendent: trades program, RRU collaboration, middle school opening (October 22, 2022)
Welding classes help SD62 students launch trades careers (May 18, 2022)
===== ABOUT ISLAND SOCIAL TRENDS:
Island Social Trends is a professional news portal at islandsocialtrends.ca . Fully online since mid-2020, Island Social Trends emerged from the extensive groundwork of previous print publications in the west shore: MapleLine Magazine (2008-2010), Sooke Voice News (2011-2013), and West Shore Voice News (2014-2020).
Since 2008, journalist and editor Mary P Brooke has taken a socioeconomic lens to the news of the west shore and south Vancouver Island region, including BC provincial news, and national news impacts.
Ms Brooke has been covering news of School District 62 (SD62) at the board and committee level — attending nearly all of their meetings since 2014. She was a school trustee candidate (SD62 – Belmont Zone / Langford, Colwood, Metchosin and Highlands) in the October 2022 election.