A program to give at-risk youth a chance at learning some job and life skills has finished its latest session.
Twenty young people attended the latest BladeRunners program which has operated out of Oceanview Education Centre for the past four weeks. The program, funded through the Canada-British Columbia labour market agreement, runs as a partnership among First Nations Employment Society (FNES) in Tla’amin (Sliammon) First Nation, Career Link and School District 47.
The theme of the latest program is trades, said Shelley Brand who works for the school district and is BladeRunners program coordinator in Powell River. “We’ve had trades people from the community come in and introduce all the trades and give the youth more information,” said Brand.
Participants receive basic training in first aid, foodsafe and industrial safety designed to help them enter the labour force. The students also receive help to develop interviewing and communication skills, she said. Students spend a week doing work experience at companies. The ultimate goal for the youth is to gain sufficient skills and experience that will translate into a long-term attachment to the labour force.
“We are celebrating the in-class portion of the program,” said Brand, adding the youth had yet to complete the job shadowing portion.
Rob Hughes works for Career Link and helps participants in the work experience part of the program. “They need experience in order to get the jobs, but they need the jobs to get the experience,” said Hughes. “Youth in this program usually have quite thin resumés, so this is a good activity for them to make connections in the community,” and could help them circumvent the hiring paradox.
Justin Hall, a participant in the program, discovered BladeRunners while hunting for jobs at Career Link. “It was pretty simple to be a part of,” he said. “I got lucky because I was one of the last people to get accepted.”
To qualify for BladeRunners applicants must not have filed an employment insurance claim in the last three years.
Blake Harry joined the program after his teacher at Brooks Offsite School suggested BladeRunners could help in his job search. “He knew that I could do this better than school and I can get paid,” said Blake, who is interested in learning more about welding now that he is finishing the program.
Blake’s older brother Brad also joined the program after hearing about BladeRunners through Walter Paul who works for FNES. “I was working at the fish hatchery before this, but I’d like to get into a trade,” said Brad. “This will help me decide what I want to do.”
Approximately 1,200 youth will participate in the program provincially this year and about 70 per cent will be aboriginal, according to the ministry of jobs, tourism and skills training.
For more information about the BladeRunners program, readers can visit the program online or contact Brand at [email protected].
