Careers
Our students will succeed in a much different future from the one we envisioned 10 or 15 years ago. It is our responsibility to prepare all children for success in whatever life path they choose, connecting learning opportunities with future career possibilities. We know that real-life experiences - like community involvement, gaining business knowledge, and hands-on-learning - build better students and life-long citizens.
Trade Programs - Opportunity Awaits
The Electrician Career Program is a District Program in the Abbotsford School District. The Electrical program is offered at UFV Trades & Technology Centre in Chilliwack and allows students to maximize opportunities for future career development as an electrician while still in high school. The program is designed to provide students with the knowledge, skills, and practical training required to pursue a career as an electrician. The program combines classroom instruction with hands-on training to prepare students for entry-level positions in the electrical trade. Thanks Blair Charron-Franken who is featured in the video below.
WJM Careers Using ChatterHigh for Post-Secondary and Career Exploration
The Career classes (CLE 10 and CLC 12) at WJ Mouat Secondary have been using the ChatterHigh platform for our students to explore career and post-secondary opportunities in a fun way. Through ChatterHigh, students do a daily 10 question quiz that takes them to various post-secondary and career exploration websites where students will research options to find the answers to questions.
Students have contributed to helping WJM win the National competition for the AAAA Let’s Talk Careers: Canada’s Most Informed School. As a result of the competition our school has benefited by winning the grand prize as well as some students winning cash bursaries. (Over 50 students winning last year.)
Here is a quote from a grade 9 student last year:
“One thing I love about ChatterHigh/competition is how it taught me so much about different universities and colleges. I learned all the different majors and what each is about since we had to research and read the paragraphs to answer the questions. Another thing I like about ChatterHigh is it showed me the different careers or studies I may be intrigued in. Some of the questions we had to watch videos for which I liked, and it was like a change and not always having to read to find the answer. ChatterHigh also was really helpful in teaching me the skill of skimming/reading through and researching the answers, which I think is a really important skill for the future too, so it helped me improve on that!” WJM Grade 9 student.
Work Experience Program
One of the district’s goals is personalized learning. At Mouat, each student in Work Experience gets a placement personally suited to their career goals and interests and they complete 100 hours of volunteer work experience there. Mouat is one of the only schools in the district that has a Work Experience program like this where it is in the timetable and the teacher assists in finding students placements related to their career goal. A wide range of students sign up for this course and I get to place students in a variety of areas. Some students will do placements that can lead to employment as they will be entering the work force after graduation, some are getting experience in the trades, and others are trying a career that will require multiple years of university.
A highlight is going out and getting to see the students at their placements where they can show us what they have learnt. Another wonderful part is placing students with former Mouat grads, or people that have connections to Mouat.
Certifying Tomorrow's Sign Makers
Mouat's own Mr. Liversidge and the work he does in his program has recently been highlighted in SignMedia, a national publication dedicated to the sign making industry. His students, as a part of his Graphic Design course, are earning certification in the sign-making industry. Here is an excerpt from the article:
"One person addressing this challenge [of finding the next generation of sign makers] is David Liversidge, who heads a sign design program at W.J. Mouat Secondary School in Abbotsford, B.C., and is a member of Sign Media Canada's editorial advisory board (EAB). He has been working with SAC in recent years to develop a certification program for his students."
"To my knowledge, it is the first of its kind for the sign industry in Canada," he says. "The idea is for the kids to earn a document they can then take to a sign shop as certification of their training and abilities."
For the full article click here. https://www.signmedia.ca/publications/de/201811/index.html