Saulteau First Nations near Chetwynd, British Columbia hosted an open house on Wednesday, June 8 to give visitors a glimpse into the Nicola Valley Institute of Technology’s (NVIT) Trade Routes program that is helping open doors to the skilled trades for Aboriginal people across British Columbia.

NVIT is an Aboriginal college located in Merritt, B.C.

“It seems like a lot of young people these days aren’t sure of what they want to do,” said NVIT’s Mike Hassel, coordinator and instructor for the program. “So, by giving them these sixty hours of each trade – welding, millwrighting, electrical and plumbing-pipefitting – they get a good glimpse. And from that hands on experience they can take from that what they need.”

Guests to the open house were allowed to tour the mobile classroom – a trailer containing all the required tools and equipment that Trade Routes hauls from site to site – where a number of those students were hard at work on welding projects and other assignments. Danny Harrington, a twenty-nine year old with experience framing houses, but interested in embarking on a new career, was practicing precision skills by making steel dice to fit exact specifications. Twenty year old Caleb Grusing was welding a steel picture frame as an extra assignment after racing through his other mandatory projects. He hopes to continue his education at Thompson Rivers University after Trade Routes.

Presently, Trade Routes travels to First Nations communities across the province with its mobile classroom. Hassel, who has been involved with the program for three and a half years, is away from home, teaching trades that have been his profession for about forty months out of the year. He hopes that will change eventually.

“I’m trying to develop a program that we could set up back home in Merritt,” he said. “And we could pull students from each band to come there and stay at our residence – our college – and it would be more of a cross section of different people working together than just members of the community working together. So, that’s what I’ve been really trying to develop right now. So, naturally, I’m at home more. And the students get more of a real feel for college life, not just being at home.”

The program also includes academic upgrading in both math and English, which is an element that Audrey Sam, Executive Director of the North East Native Advancing Society (NENAS), believes is crucial to the success of the students.

“NENAS has put people through training,” she explained. “And what we find is they may go to the college … and they’re assessed at maybe a Grade 9-10 level. Even though they left the school system with a leaving certificate, they think they have a Grade 12 education, but they don’t. And so then they’re disheartened – and they don’t want to go through upgrading for four years or whatever. An extra four years of education before they can even get into a program, like an apprenticeship program or whatever trade they want to get into. And so this program is bridging the gap, the way I see it. It’s a stepping stone. So, they get a flavour of various skills and trades, and then they can decide: is this really for me? Or is there something different?”

Sam also enjoys the cultural components of the program, which include regular Circle Talks based on First Nations traditions and plenty of support from the First Nations community, particularly its elders.

“That’s really important, because what we find within the mainstream is our clients go in and they don’t have a support system,” Sam added. “Support systems are limited within the college in terms of Aboriginal support workers. And so here they have a circle where they support each other and they have the freedom and the flexibility to talk. And it’s safe because there’s an elder, and industry’s there, community members are there, so they can hear from their clients and their members if they’re struggling in a course or having a problem with an instructor. They can feel free to voice that and resolve the issue rather than leave the program.”

“I think the cool thing about this program is it’s actually within the community,” echoed Tamara Dokkie of Community Affairs with Shell Canada and a member of the local First Nations community. “They are five steps away from their school instead of being shipping off to Fort St. John, Dawson Creek or Chetwynd. I think that’s a major bonus for them, because they’re able to have their family support and still go to school.”

Interestingly, the Saulteau First Nations session of Trade Routes has taken place at a time when a shortage of skilled labour in the oil and gas industry is increasingly becoming a hot topic of conversation and a significant concern for companies in that sector.

“We do have a shortage of skilled labour,” said Charlie Edwards, BC Projects Superintendent with Shell Canada, one of a list of Trade Routes’ industry partners that also includes Surepoint Services, Flint Energy, Patch Point, Summit Pipelines and Western Coal. “There’s a lot of people who want to come out and work, but they don’t have trade qualifications. And that’s from all sides of the fence. So, getting the trade – and that’s what I spoke with these people about.

“The actual credentialed Red Seal is the most important thing you can get if you’re in the trades. Apprentice is great, but you’ve got to finish it up. And there is a shortage of [tradespeople]. Pipefitters are one of the main ones, I find. Welders – you can’t weld without your ticket. They just won’t allow it because there’s so much quality control on that. Pipefitting, we’re getting to that stage. We’re moving into that stage.”

“If they didn’t know what trades were needed,” he continued, “I think this is a whole lot better, actually going out and trying them, than me just rattling off: we need pipefitters, we need welders.”

Edwards also stressed his belief that the skilled trades are a great way to earn a living, particularly in terms of “pride in accomplishment” and, obviously, the wages.

“Trades is fast becoming more white collar than blue collar,” he said. “You can make as much money in trades as you can with four years of college. So, I think it’s great showing them what we do out there and what can be done, and you can be a tradesman and be proud of your work.”

Sam has seen that the aboriginal workforce is definitely starting to gravitate towards the skilled trades.

“And it’s good paying jobs as well,” she remarked. “Welders make fairly decent salaries.”

According to Steve Wilks, a job coach with the Northeast Aboriginal Skills and Employment Program (NEASEP), which is involved in delivering Trade Routes to First Nations communities, the program is a good first step toward transforming interested students looking for a new career path into fully qualified professionals.

“If they successfully complete the program and go through the [human resources] process for our industry partners, and there’s an opening there, these guys will get an apprenticeship,” said Wilks. “Because this just grooms them to an apprenticeship level. It doesn’t give them any technical accreditation towards their apprenticeship. All it is, is grooming them so they’re entry level.”

The students had their resumes ready during the open house, all eager to speak with the industry representatives, who were just as eager to speak to their potential employees of the future. Patch Point representatives were careful not to make any promises, but did express a genuine interest in recruiting employees from the program. Flint Energy representatives were similarly enthusiastic, adding that it was an honour to be part of the Circle Talk at the end of the day.

“I’ve already got one of the fellows with the other partners talking about electricians and [saying] they don’t want to be short changed,” Wilks said of the interest from industry. “They want somebody from this program. I told them who the top candidates were in the classroom. They’re looking like they really want to play for real. So, we’re pretty happy about that. So, hopefully the other industry partners will come through too and they’ll connect today with the students.”

“If we don’t have industry partners, we don’t have a program,” he added. “We have to have them. We have to have some kind of a commitment to jobs and employment or we don’t even consider the program.”

During the open house, the students seemed confident about their prospects and excited about the opportunities that Trade Routes is opening up for them.

“I feel like Alice in Wonderland,” said Eddie Brown, the real character in the group. “You open one door and another door opens, and another door opens.”

An impressive 22 students out of the 24 individuals who began the program have completed the course this session. According to Hassel, about thirty per cent of past students have gone to the next level in their pursuit of a career in the skilled trades.

Sam was quick to note that there are a variety of programs for students who are anxious about paying for a college education after Trade Routes and that they can always contact NENAS to discuss those options.

“We encourage youth [to get] involved in these kind of training initiatives that are coming up,” she concluded.