Sudbury-area high school provide students with insights into alternative career paths

With a renewed focus on trades and modern technology, Sudbury-area’s local school boards have rolled out what they call Specialist High Skills Major (SHSM) Programs at their secondary schools.

The hands on approach gives students a look into what life in a professional setting might be like.

At the Rainbow District School Board (RDSB), there are 33 different options in a variety of sectors.

Officials with the board said these programs give students an insight into many alternative career paths.

“Going to university is not just the only option for students anymore,” said SHSM coordinator Jody Jakubo.

“Certainty, we’re promoting college, we’re promoting apprentices, we’re promoting alternative path ways for students to ideally, end up in the career that they would like.”

Lexis Byers is a grade 11 student taking part in an all girl automotive course. She told CTV News that SHSM has opened her mind to careers she would not have considered before.

“I find I really like it being an all girls class because it’s really comfortable and you don’t feel intimidated to ask questions or anything and I find its good because I don’t know many things like the tools names and how to do things so I’m always asking a lot of questions,” said Byers.

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Whether it is wood-working, construction, health and wellness or welding, officials said it is having new technology to use in the class is what draws students to the programs.

“We’re getting more computer technology in the classrooms – a lot more modern equipment which we didn’t have when I first started in grade 9,” said grade 12 student Trevor Meek.

“Mind you we had COVID so I missed out on some of that stuff, but they’re starting to invest more into the programs here.”

Around 500 students are enrolled in SHSM at the RDSB alone.

The RDSB has over 500 students participating in SHSM programs, including several taking an all girls automotive class at Lasalle Secondary School in Greater Sudbury. (Ashley Bacon/CTV News Northern Ontario)“Its taken off quite substantially in the last little bit,” said Chad Leclair, a construction teacher with the RDSB.

“All of our classes are filled, we had another teacher in for a while to teach some of the classes because we’re getting such an overflow with these programs, they’re drawing heavily from all of the other areas in the school.”