Nailed it: Fredericton high school encouraging students to train in trades
Some students at Leo Hayes High School in Fredericton are working on building their futures in the trades.
A lot of industries are desperate for workers and skilled trades are in high demand.
"I'm more of a hands-on kind of guy,” said Grade 11 student Tyson Foster. “I don't really like sitting in the classroom and it gives me free range of what I'd like to do with my future.”
The students say they learn more than just the labour skills.
“I think communication is really the biggest one” Nate St-Pierre said. “Instead of just working on homework or working on sheets, you're putting the teamwork together.”
Leading up to the holidays, they've been putting those skills to use building decorative Christmas trees.
Instructors say the skills they're learning here held build the foundation for many fields.
"Supplying people that can actually think and develop skills that can actually lead to a really fruitful career in skilled trades or some adjacent field,” said Joell Gallant, a skill trades instructor at Leo Hayes. “Or we end up equipping them with some good home maintenance skills.”
Three classes of 20 students are learning a wide range of skills. But the instructors are hoping to see a wider range of people in class.
"If you can't see it then you can't be it,” Gallant said. “So when more Grade 9 and 10 students see Grade 11 and 12 students that look just like them taking this course, then they think that's something I can do, too.”
Gallant hopes to see more diversification in tradespeople.
"One of my professional goals for the last year-and-a-half has been to increase the amount of people who identify other than male taking our courses,” Gallant said. “So we were at zero out of 20 and now we're at two out of 20, which is not a lot but it's trending in the right direction.”
With industry in need of workers, they’re hoping trades become their students’ first choice of career.
"We also really try to wipe out the stereotype that if you can't do anything else, you go into the trades,” said Shane Hoyt the skilled trades department head at Leo Hayes. “We work very hard in that the trades are a great career they're challenging and once you get involved you see all the opportunities.”
Some students are already planning their futures.
"I want to go in the trades, I think the power line trades,” St-Pierre said.
"I'm not one of those people who want to sit in an office and type on a keyboard,” Foster said.
Items made and sold by the students put cash right back in the program's fund for supplies.
For more New Brunswick news visit our dedicated provincial page.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Conservatives, NDP should be 'celebrating' EV deals: industry minister
Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne says federal opposition parties should be 'celebrating' the recently announced electric vehicle deals, despite their criticisms the Liberals refuse to make public the terms and conditions laid out in the contracts.
$500K-worth of elvers seized at Toronto airport
Fishery and border service officers seized more than 100 kilograms of unauthorized elvers at the Toronto Pearson International Airport on Wednesday.
Banking mogul suing government after intelligence leaks leave him shut out of Canadian economy
Chinese Canadian banking mogul Shenglin Xian has launched a $300 million lawsuit against the federal government. It’s a means to find the source of intelligence leaks which Xian says has cost him his livelihood.
His SUV was stolen on Montreal's South Shore. Then he got a $156 parking ticket
A couple is frustrated after their SUV was stolen from Montreal's South Shore in March and they received a parking ticket for the same vehicle last week.
Woman with liver failure rejected for a transplant after medical review highlights alcohol use
For nearly three months, Amanda Huska has been in an Ontario hospital, part of it on life support, because of severe liver failure. Her history of alcohol use is getting in the way of her only potential treatment: a liver transplant.
Box tree moths have infested Ontario and experts say more are coming. Here's what to do to protect your garden
An invasive moth species is on the rise in Canada and, if you've planted a certain shrub, it could stand to ruin your garden.
Evacuation orders lifted in Fort McMurray Saturday as rain dampens wildfire activity
Residents of Fort of McMurray who were displaced over wildfire concerns were told to return home Saturday.
To plant or not to plant? Gardening tips for May long weekend
May long weekend is finally here, and with the extra time off you may be getting the itch to head out to your garden and plant. However, the old debate whether you should plant now, or wait, is still ever-present.
Sean 'Diddy' Combs abuse allegations: A timeline of key events
In the six months since singer Cassie filed a lawsuit against Sean Combs, a wave of similar cases and public allegations against one of the most influential music moguls of the past three decades have occurred.