Medicine Hat Public School Division held a career pathways forum this week with more than 40 members of the community coming to hear the panel of three students discuss their experiences, which was followed by a roundtable discussion.--SUBMITTED PHOTO
reporter@medicinehatnews.com
More than 40 community members braved the cold Thursday evening to attend a Career Pathways Forum held at the divisional office of the Medicine Hat Public School Division.
“There is definitely a changed emphasis provincially around career pathways for students,” said Corey Sadlemyer, associate superintendent of learning. “We talked about the Advanced Education Mandate Letter and the Education Mandate Letter and how they overlap.”
The mandate letters were issued by Premier Danielle Smith to the Minister of Education and the Minister of Advanced Education during the summer of 2023.
MHPSD has three career pathways for students to engage in: work experience, a registered apprenticeship program (RAP) and dual-credit courses. Work experience is an entry-level career pathway with 400-plus students each year completing placements. Before becoming a RAP student, an individual will need to work with an employer, such as in a welding shop, for a set number of hours to demonstrate if they have an aptitude for the trade before the employer will consider sponsoring them for RAP.
“It happens in all sorts of ways, they might be interested and seek it out, or they might have a neighbour, parent or other contact in that field,” explained Sadlemyer. “If they succeed, they get into a registered apprenticeship program where they begin collecting hours towards becoming a journeyman.”
MHPSD works with Careers: Next Generation and receives funding, as do most school divisions within the province. The division will post jobs listed and students are able to apply for them. Students are also able to participate in the Green Certificate Program that provide opportunities into agriculture-related career pathways.
Lastly, there is the dual-credit career pathway with MHPSD having agreements with Medicine Hat College, Lethbridge College, Olds College and SAIT. More than 70 students are registered this semester in a dual-credit course within the division.
“They cost about $500 each, but the school division pays for them, so they are free for the students. They receive five 30-level credits towards high school and they receive three at the college institution,” said Sadlemyer.
One of the students on the panel had an interest in digital media and is currently taking her third dual-credit class. Currently in Grade 11, this student will have three 30-level credits toward high school graduation and already has nine credits toward a diploma or degree at Lethbridge College, giving her a significant head start in her post-secondary education.
Another student on the panel was also taking her third dual-credit course, but her pathway ended up being slightly different.
“She’s used it as a way to sort and filter, she took veterinary studies through Olds College and realized that wasn’t what she wanted to do. Then she took First Nations, Indigenous Ways of Knowing through Lethbridge College, which set her on a path to wanting to become a lawyer, and now she is taking a criminal justice course,” explained Sadlemyer. “We have kids getting huge head starts or at least not going to post-secondary and finding out it’s not the right career for them.”
Those attending the event were various employers, including five different builders, organizations, City of Medicine Hat managers and Medicine Hat College. The career pathway available within MHPSD focus primarily on high school students.
“We are also building out a framework for Grade 9, 8, 7 and right into elementary school,” stated Sadlemyer. “How do we engage kids earlier in thinking about what is next for them? How do we give them exposure to a whole bunch of things in a strategic way so that when they get to high school they can start to choose pathways?”
After the panel discussion, all those attending participated in a roundtable discussion centred on four questions: What possibilities do you see here? What supports do you need? What other information do you need? What ideas do you have for us (MHPSD)?
Responses generated will be put together and shared back with attendees.
“One of our next steps is to engage parents, particularly around dual-credit and RAP so they understand what it is and then engaging our students at the Grades 8 and 9 level,” said Sadlemyer.
A number of attendees came over to the careers team following the event to exchange contact details so they could receive more information on the career pathways programs.
“We got some really good feedback that we can take directly back to our teaching staff,” said Sadlemyer. “An example was in the area of building construction and the two primary tools used on a job site are a skill saw and chop saw, which is something for us to think about. If we want students to come onto a site and be ready to work, they need those skills.”
