Trades attract growing youth interest

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This article was published 14/03/2025 (188 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A group of trade programs has already filled up at Assiniboine College for the next school year, a sign that is encouraging for the industry, the head of trades said on Thursday.

Acting dean of trades Jim DeGraeve told the Sun that four trade programs at the college filled up one month earlier than last year. The programs for plumbing, automotive technician, heavy duty technician and electrician are now on waitlists, reflecting a growing interest in trades.

DeGraeve shared the information during the college’s third annual Trades Summit. The event returned this week to Assiniboine’s Len Evans Centre for Trades and Technology, providing tours and hands-on workshop to high school students to introduce possible career paths for them.

“By allowing high school students to take part in activities that mirror real industry skills, we’re providing a practical and meaningful introduction to careers in the trades,” DeGraeve said in a press release Thursday.

Speaking to the Sun inside the college’s trades centre, DeGraeve said he has witnessed this year some former high school students take interest in trades and attend college to pursue a career in those fields.

“We actually have students this year that have talked to me” about their interest in trades during a prior summit, said DeGraeve. “We’re seeing students starting to trickle in.”

The Construction Association of Rural Manitoba partnered with the college to put the event together. In an interview with the Sun, association vice-president Brad Dodds said there’s a lot of opportunity in connecting with youth.

Dodds said the event is important as the industry can be overlooked.

“We just want to see people become engaged,” said Dodds. “It’s a good opportunity to reach out to youth of today.”

He said the association also wants to break through stereotypes that have hovered around trades. An important message the association wants to promote for young people today is that trades are a physically and mentally challenging career path, and they have solid potential for upward mobility and profit.

The Trades Summit is one way to introduce careers to students and ensure that the industry is not overlooked simply because of lack of contact.

Assiniboine student Jacky Wang told the Sun he’s set to graduate in May from the nine-month heavy equipment technician program, one of the programs showcased to high school students Thursday. Wang said he is in the process of confirming a practicum in May to work in Neepawa.

Wang was previously a computer programmer. He said he changed career paths because he saw more of a future in heavy machinery work than computers.

“After I searched the job market in Manitoba, I didn’t think there was programmer opportunities,” said Wang. “It’s a global trend, even in the United States.”

Wang said he expects to work on agriculture equipment and construction equipment, like excavators, during his practicum in Neepawa.

At Thursday’s Trades Summit, high school students streamed through the Len Evans Centre in the morning and early afternoon, taking tours of different trade shops. One workshop offered an actual welding experience, and for plumbing, students created a hula hoop out of pipe.

DeGraeve said the event has grown every year, starting with roughly 250 students three years ago and drawing an expected 380 students this year.

College students were set to participate in the afternoon as well, DeGraeve said. The students come out of pre-employment programs and are able to connect with companies that set up kiosks at the Len Evans Centre.

DeGraeve said about 11 Assiniboine students ended up landing a job from connecting with companies at the Trades Summit, adding that he hopes that connection continues and more students find their way into the Westman workforce.

» cmcdowell@brandonsun.com