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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Enrolment is down at a the Kimberlite Career and Technical Centre, and as a result students are missing out on an opportunity to vary their coursework and learn invaluable life skills, says the facility's co-ordinator.

"We want to advise parents, and also advise the students, that preparation for working in the trades is a viable career option," said Larry Connolly..

As of December, the trades centre had 430 students register for the school year, down 16 per cent from last year. For first semester high school courses, enrolment is down 18 per cent with 137 students, although enrolment in the middle school exploratory program increased 11 per cent to 141 students.

Connolly said the overall drop is partly due to a trend of declining enrolment in schools across the North, and partly due to the fact that high school students often don't have room in their schedules to take a hands-on course.

The centre offers courses in construction, welding, small engine repair and hairstyling to students in grades 8 and above in Yellowknife Catholic Schools. There are also about 20 students from Ecole Alain St. Cyr who use the facility for their technical courses.

When the centre first opened seven years ago, students from Yellowknife Education District No. 1 also used the site for hairstyling and mining classes. However, Sir John Franklin High School now has its own aesthetic facility and the mining program was canceled due to staff cuts after the 2009-2010 school year, said Connolly.

Courses taught at the centre are all about being practical - right down to projects made during class time. On the morning Yellowknifer visited the centre, the construction class was in the midst of making a backdrop for a high school drama production, and the welders were busy putting together cross-country ski setters - pulled behind a snowmobile to groom ski trails - to sell to Ski North.

Because the instructors are all red-seal journeymen, students can receive one hour's credit towards an apprenticeship program for every hour spent in class, which is different from many other high school technical courses, said Connolly.

Antonio Lewis, a 17-year-old Grade 12 student at St. Patrick High School, has decided to go into welding after high school because of the classes he's taken at the trades centre.

"It's helped a lot," he said about the centre. "It's given me an opportunity to try out welding, and that's what I want to do after high school. So, it helped me make that choice."

Lewis is well on his way to becoming a master at his trade. As a Grade 11 student, he placed second at the Skills Canada National Competition in welding - a showing he is hoping to meet or exceed this year.

Most mornings, Lewis spends an hour at the centre before first period starts across the street at the high school. He said his welding instructor, former Con Mine worker Doug Wourms, has had a great influence over him.

"He's always teaching me what's good, what to look for and what not to look for," said Lewis. "And he teaches me about the workplace and what he used to do at the mines."

The centre focuses on two different paths for its students. One is the pre-career path for students who will go on to work in the trades. The other is teaching other students life skills for hands-on projects throughout their lives.

The skills students are taught at the centre are critical - especially for people living in the North, said Connolly.

"Imagine: almost everyone here has a snow machine, so almost everyone in the North needs to know something about small engine repair."

The centre is looking at holding early morning classes before school begins and classes on Thursday afternoons, when all Yellowknife Catholic school students are let out early.

The new program is planned to get underway in February, at the start of the second semester at the high school. All St. Patrick students interested in taking a technical course are welcome to register, regardless of their skill level, said Connolly.

St. Patrick students will be surveyed in the near future to assess whether there would be a demand for this type of flexible not-for-credit trades courses. If students express an interest, things will flow from there, said Connolly.

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