A partnership between the Huron-Perth Catholic District school board and Conestoga College is exposing Grade 8 students across the district to the electrical trades while imparting a few basic electrical skills.
Following the purchase of electrical boards for students three years ago, the school board recently enlisted the help of Conestoga College electrical instructor and licensed electrician Tom Smith to visit every Grade 8 classroom across the board and lead interactive lessons on the basics of electrical wiring and electrical safety, serving as an in-school introduction to the electrical trades.
“I’m a farm boy, right, so I’ve been working with tools and tractors and stuff since I was a kid,” Smith said. “I sometimes wonder, since farming is not as prevalent as it used to be, how do these students learn just common problem-solving tasks if we don’t introduce them to them early?
“The other thing I like about this program is, when I was in the trade, there were very few young people who identified as females in the trade and that needs to change. We need more tradespeople, and I think it’s great to get our female (students) involved or participating at some level because, when they look at their options (for classes) in Grade 9, it’s not totally foreign to them, so they may take a construction technology or another tech class.”
Mark Flanagan, the Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program project leader for the Huron-Perth Catholic District school board, also noted there’s a high demand for skilled workers across Huron and Perth counties. By introducing basic electrical skills and hands-on training in Grade 8, the Electricians in the Classroom program helps to open doors to numerous potential career paths in the trades that students might consider as they move on to high school, he said.
“It’s a great program, and Tom Smith does a fantastic job,” Flanagan said. “He teaches electrical in a very fun way, so the kids are playing with electrical boards. They’re learning how to use (wire) strippers. They’re hooking up connections for regular lighting and three-way switches and making buzzers go off. Tom goes through all the components and why it’s working and the wattage and what to look out for. … We have electrical programs at both of our secondary schools and it’s just a feeder going into it.
“We’re trying to promote tech programs and convince everyone to take a tech program,” Flanagan added. “I know not everyone is going to be a tradesperson, but let’s not leave school without taking a class either in automotive, manufacturing (or) construction. Whatever the case may be, you’re going to be able to draw back on that … basic knowledge later in life.”