Eighty-two Grade 6 students from Thompson got the opportunity to try various job skills at the sixth-annual Grade 6 Trade & Technology Olympics put on by Skills Canada Manitoba at the Thompson Regional Community Centre Nov. 22.
The students spent the morning moving through 13 stations, including industrial mechanics, electronics, engineering, baking, fingernail art, mechanics, construction. hairdressing, instrumentation and carpentry.
They were guided through the various tools and toys available for them to try out by three Vale employees – industrial mechanic Joanne Marchand, industrial instrument mechanic Robert Stillie and mine engineer in training Coralee Heske – as well as by R.D. Parker Collegiate students. The high school offers courses in apprenticeship trades including cosmetology, food services, mechanics and carpentry.
Liz Sousa, a project manager with the Northern Manitoba Sector Council, said the organization provided some funding for Skills Canada Manitoba to buy some equipment for the event, including toy building materials for some of the engineering stations. The event is also focusing on gender-neutralizing the trades, by having all students try out skills in fields traditionally seen as men’s or women’s work. The reason that Grade 6 students are targeted is to expose them to trades and technology before they get to high school. Sousa says there are more than 70 trades people can apprentice for in Manitoba and that many of them have older workforces made up mostly of people who will be retiring in the next decade or so.
Jonah Parsons from Deerwood School said he was enjoying the opportunity to practise building skills and to learn techniques for various careers.
“I’ve always liked building things,” he said. “It’s cool to see how grownups do this.”
One aspect of one person’s mining job in particular intrigued Maria MacKenzie from École Riverside School.
“She said she puts dynamite through things to make things explode,” MacKenize said.
Serenpreet Kuar, also from Riverside, said baking and beauty skills were among her favourites.
“I kind of liked the nails because it was different than all the others,” she said, as well as cupcake decorating, which she gave a unique twist by adding a cookie on top of the cupcake. “I was drooling all over it.”
Kuar was also impressed with herself and her partner when it came to carpentry, where they had to measure a piece of wood, cut it in half and then screw the pieces back together.
“We got really close to exactly half,” she said.
Harlie Pruder, one of the Skills Canada Manitoba organizers of the event, said outside help is the key to pulling it off.
“Vale’s a huge partner for us in making this happen and same as R.D. Parker,” she said. “We wouldn’t be able to have this without their support.”
