A select number of mostly Grade 12 students from across the Greater Victoria School District are spending their semester at Lambrick Park Secondary School and Camosun College to partake in the Trades Awareness, Skills & Knowledge (TASK) program.
As opposed to a normal classroom setting, the 18 students will spend their semester getting hands-on experience in carpentry, plumbing, welding and more, with their biggest project involving building and installing a shed for local buyers over five weeks.
"Kids who want a job should do this program," joked Kevin Blecic, acting vice-president of Pathways & Partnerships at the district, mentioning that most students effortlessly find work after graduation.
The students started their sheds from the roof, then they move down to the foundations before eventually installing it on a private buyer's property at the end of the five-week project.
The entire TASK program offers 24 credits for the semester instead of the typical 16, and students get to spend about five weeks working with two local companies to try different trades.
"They already kind of get a sense of what it's like here, but they're going to get a full sense when they're actually on the job," said Blecic. "It really does teach you all the fundamentals you need to be successful on the job site."
He also highlighted how this year, the program now teaches five young women, the highest rate of female-identifying students they've ever had participate.
"Even though five per cent of tradespeople are females, that number seems to be growing now. It's always been consistent for so many years, but I think that number's starting to grow now that it's actually getting up closer to 8 or 10 per cent," he said.
By the end of the semester, most students will have chosen a trade where they will begin their career, though very few do decide to continue on to post-secondary.
