While other students at Edwin Parr Composite School spent their mornings studying, Braiden Casselman was earning school credit – and career experience – changing oil at Hunter Motors.
The Grade 10 student is enrolled in the school’s Work Experience Program, which allows students who are focused on entering the workforce after graduation to work mornings and attend classes in the afternoons.
On June 16, he sat down for a burger with his old bosses at an appreciation barbecue the school held for the employers.
“It’s probably the best experience I ever had, working for them,” Casselman said. “(Mechanics is) just something I’ve liked. The guys let me use the tools and just working with the guys was pretty awesome.”
Casselman and the other students in the program did not get paid for their work, but received one credit for every 25 hours they worked. When they graduate, they will have worked about five different jobs and will receive a Certificate of Achievement. They can also choose to take extra classes to get a high school diploma.
EPC’s John Traynor instructs the program. He teaches students how to write a résumé, matches them to employers that fit their interests and conducts mock-interviews, which he video-tapes for analysis.
He also teaches the students core subjects in the afternoons.
“It’s nice when I see kids who were not really school-focused to start to enjoy it and start to realize how important it is,” Traynor said. “When they see that the bosses are supporting them and they have people in their lives supporting them, most young people will make good decisions, when they have that opportunity to have that support and mentorship.”
Cami Tizzad, who co-owns Tizzco’s Riverside Machining & Welding Ltd., took one student on this year.
“I think it’s great,” she said. “(My student) has great work ethic in him. Maybe if it was a different child it might have been a little bit of a different experience for us, but I think for the most part it’s pretty good. He’s eager to learn.”
Traynor says that every so often students and employers are not a good match. At that point, he teaches the student to amicably part with the employer and the student is responsible for finding another job.
“Most of the time I don’t have any issues, because the kids want to work,” he said. “They want to be out there showing their bosses what they can do.”
