School District 46 (SD46) is on the lookout for local businesses that can support high school work placement opportunities.
For some students their first taste of the career paths they will tread for the rest of their lives come in high school. For other students, career paths will wander and curve, as their experience grows. But it all starts somewhere.
Through the Work Experience 12A/B course, students try a variety of employment through supported job shadowing. It’s a Ministry of Education curricular course designed to introduce school-aged (15-year-old) students to careers and work placement opportunities. While most of the course time consists of work experience and virtual placements, it also includes in-school time spent on workplace orientation, safety and pre-employment information. The students are unpaid as they learn valuable skills.
SD46 is creating a database of businesses that we have used in the past and are wanting to expand these opportunities for students. If you are interested in supporting the youth on the Coast in their exploration of career pathways and employability skills, SD46 would like to hear from you.
There is particular demand in technology, climate control initiatives, early childhood education, health and wellness, HVAC.
What is the process?
The work experience teacher will meet with the student and set a goal for the placement. The student is matched to a business that supports learning in areas of their career pathway or that meets the student’s Individual Education Plan.
The teacher will use the database to find a suitable business and reach out to the contact person to see if they are able to support a student. If it’s a good time for the business to do so, an interview with the students can be organized.
What does the business need to offer?
The students are in an unpaid placement and are insured, with liability insurance, by the B.C. Ministry of Education as long as the business has current WorkSafeBC insurance. The placements can be at the standard workplace or virtual. Students need to attend for 100 hours.
An adult supervisor must be present for the student and at the end of the 100 hours an observation sheet will be completed by the supervisor.
What are the days and times?
Students are expected to treat this experience like a working environment and the days and times will be set on the work experience contract. The students are available at different times and this can be discussed in the interview or when the teacher calls the employer.
Next steps: Would your business like to participate?
If you would like to be added to the database, please get in touch with Cathy Gordon, Work Enhancement Project Lead for SD#46 at [email protected].
What is the impact for students?
For recent graduate Chritzelyn Tugade, her stint volunteering at Little Scholars Daycare helped her realize how much she enjoys working with children and prompted her to enroll in an Early Childhood Education program. “I enjoyed getting to know each individual child –– their unique personalities, strengths, likes, dislikes and so on. I found ways to bond and connect with the children through storytelling, book reading, dancing, singing, playing board games or solving puzzles, and playing active games during outside time,” reflected Chritzelyn. “I will forever be grateful for my supervisors at Little Scholars who constantly demonstrated essential skills needed for any childcare setting. Through them I was taught the importance of patience, determination, focus, and the practice of fostering the children’s skills for life, such as independence, selflessness, and of course kindness.”
