Vancouver School Board, Local 280, and SMACNA-BC contractors work together to build the sheet metal labourforce
By / Jessica Kirby
“The universe rewards decisiveness.” This is the mantra Mark Reid shares with students who participate in SkilledTradesBC Youth Trade Programs through Vancouver School Board (VSB). Reid is District Resource Teacher – Career Education Support VSB Career Programs, and he supports students participating in Youth Trade Programs, which can earn them credit toward an apprenticeship and high school graduation
“We can leverage that decisiveness to give high school credits,” Reid says. “In the grade 12 year, we have students in a number of trades, including sheet metal, working four days a work and attending school on Wednesdays. That helps them get to graduation mostly on time. The difference between them and other students is that they have 1,000 hours in the trade and money in the bank, which gives them a financial and career head start.”
The Youth WORK in Trades program combines high school instruction with paid, part-time, on-the-job training, and students receive credit towards apprenticeship and high school graduation.
Students begin their apprenticeship training while enrolled in grade 10, 11, or 12, and can earn up to 16 high school credits when a formal SkilledTradesBC agreement is signed by the employer, student, parent/guardian, and school district. Participants receive a Youth WORK in Trades certificate upon graduation.
VSB students interested in apprenticeship and who have just one or two graduation requirements left to complete can work four days a week and go to school on the remaining day. In a partnership between Career Programs and VSB Adult Education, students can enrol at South Hill Education Centre to complete those graduation requirements through self-paced courses.
Hiring from this program benefits contractors in many ways. Employers end up with well-trained, pre-screened workers who are looking for long-term employment and who bring no bad habits or misinformation.
“These students are hungry for the trades and excited to come to work,” Reid says. “That is what the industry is looking for, so it becomes the perfect match.”
Contractors find the most success when they are thoughtful about how to take on someone new who is just starting their career. “As an example, we have a contractor who will have new apprentices only work in the shop,” Reid says. “That helps the apprentice learn what to do and what the shop makes, and understand what it takes to be successful in trades.”
Once those apprentices are sent to the field, it gives them a confidence boost because they realize that they’ve earned it. “The field feels like an upgrade and the trade stays interesting,” Reid says.
VSB has had some pushback from employers who believe students have to be 18 to be indentured as an apprentice. However, the federal Employment Standards Act contains a clause that states when a worker under the age of 18 is participating in a directly supervised school program, the age restriction outlined in the Act doesn’t apply.
“Many employers aren’t aware of this or when they become aware, they are unsure about it,” Reid says. “However, some employers see taking on young employees as an opportunity to think strategically about how to build these young workers’ confidence and keep them excited about the trades.”
The VSB program is not unique. Every school district in the province runs something similar through a partnership between Skilled Trades BC, the school district, and a wide network of trades employers. However, there is some flexibility within districts to make the program suit students’ and employers’ needs.
“We are giving students the opportunity to work four days a week, but there are some programs that are not being so ambitious,” Reid says.
In Vancouver, the program is relatively new. Reid started with the program in 2019 and by 2020 had a plan in place that subsequently “blew up” thanks to covid-19. Reid had to recalibrate.
“Luckily, some employers agreed to take on apprentices during covid and put them to work later on, when they were able, and the program grew from there,” he says. “So that was a bizarre upside of the pandemic shifting. Also, the world slowed down but construction and manufacturing maintained a steady pace and continued to need apprentices, so that worked in our favour.”
VSB continues a working relationship with Local 280, something that Reid appreciates as former organizer, now Business Manager, Steve Davis approached the partnership with a barrier-free perspective.
“No matter a student’s situation, Local 280 made a place for them,” Reid says. “That’s what stands out the most about the sheet metal industry—the idea that they have an open mind and will meet and conquer any obstacles our students face.”
Students are typically ready for the Youth Trades Program at the end of grade 11 or after one semester of grade 12, which means employers who are able to align their hiring periods with these times could take advantage of plentiful apprenticeship opportunities.
“I understand it is tricky in terms of labourforce management, but we typically have students looking for work in February and at the end of June,” Reid says. “We would love to align with contractors hiring at those times.”
Reid has attended BC Building Trades meetings with Local 280 and felt as though being at the table with trade union representatives in the Lower Mainland was an important and eye-opening experience.
“That is a key piece, getting into rooms of people interested in what recruitment projection might look like and how workforce strategy might change,” Reid says. “We have students who are looking to learn wherever learning can be done. It doesn’t have to be in the classroom.”
He adds that the program couldn’t be a success without the hard work of the Youth Team at SkilledTradesBC, which is focused on funding, staffing, and program support.
“They do incredible work and are a tiny, almost invisible part of the system, that do so much, especially in partnership with the school districts,” Reid says. ■
