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Gronlid Central students see the trades up close at Nipawin’s Cumberland College

Grade 6, 7 and 8 students from Gronlid Central School got to see the trades up close and hands-on. They visited the Industrial Mechanics program at the Nipawin branch of Cumberland College Feb.

Grade 6, 7 and 8 students from Gronlid Central School got to see the trades up close and hands-on.

They visited the Industrial Mechanics program at the Nipawin branch of Cumberland College Feb. 10, where instructor Gerald Neudorf showed them the tools used in the trade, including a forge.

Rhea McFarlane, a teacher at Gronlid Central, said her students were excited to get hands-on.

“They’re loving it. The kids are really excited about blacksmithing. They’re wondering if they can be blacksmiths so they can make swords.”

The event was organized by Lindsay Adams, the program manager with Skills Canada Saskatchewan, an organization that promotes youth in the trades. She said Gronlid Central’s principal called her and asked her to set something up.

“In order to give her students a little bit of a Try a Trade day or an introduction to industrial mechanics, I contacted Cumberland College here in Nipawin and approached them about hosting some students and giving them a chance to explore the trade, and they very generously offered to host us.”

Her organization hosts two to five skills camps a month.

Shauna Lariviere, a student and employment advisor for Cumberland College, organized things from the college’s end.

“It’s a great opportunity for students from outlying areas to see what programs we have that they can offer here within the [college] and so they don’t necessarily have to go to Saskatoon or Regina to SaskPoly. We can bring those opportunities here and they can start their training.”

The college offers an Industrial Mechanics applied certificate. Once they graduate, they enter an apprenticeship program.

Cydnie Hudon, a student of the program from Zenon Park, said her favourite part was the fact she didn’t have to move away.

“I wanted to be a millwright, but I couldn’t work up the courage to pack up and move to Saskatoon. I’ve been out of school for two years, so I signed myself up for payments for a new car, apartments, all that kind of stuff,” she said, adding that there’s no way a student loan would pay for all that. “I couldn’t have afforded to live in the city and take this program.”

Adams said getting youth in the trades is important because there’s a large demand for those skills in Saskatchewan. To help generate interest, they also run a major Olympic-style trades competition among the province’s high school students each April, with the winner able to move on and compete in a national competition.

“We find that students in sports,” – and academics, she later added, “are often celebrated, given a chance to compete, have opportunities to travel and we think that students who are gifted in terms of the trades and technology should be given a chance to compete, a chance to be celebrated and that’s why we exist, to celebrate and promote those students who are skilled in the hands-on trades and technologies.”

McFarlane said she believes there’s a lot of interest in the trades at Gronlid Central.

“I think quite a lot, considering a lot of kids in the area grow up on the farms, grow up with hands-on lifestyles because there’s a lot of things to be doing on the farm and around,” she said. “We do have a lot of construction workers, electricians and plumbers in the area, so the kids are very much exposed to the trades.”