Young people are uncertain how to put their feet on a career path, says the youth co-ordinator of the Saskatchewan Labour Force Development Board.
Ashley Topuschak told a board-sponsored conference in Saskatoon that high school students are being told to get ready for all the jobs when the baby boomers retire in the next decade. Yet it likely won’t be a smooth transition, she said, because students don’t have the work skills.
Topuschak supports the board’s position that career education should be mandatory in all schools. The five-year-old nonprofit board advocates more work experience, mentorship and internship programs to give youths a taste of the real job world.
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However board member, Doug Willard, president of the Saskatchewan Teachers Federation, disagreed, saying: “I don’t believe in compulsory work education.”
Already crammed
He told the conference that some youths benefit, but if everyone gets the same work experience, it dilutes the value of that advantage. He also said another compulsory subject would be difficult to fit into already crowded curriculums, especially in small town schools.
“They (youth) are told to be flexible and ready to change careers three or four times. … What 14 year old wants to pick a career and limit themselves?”
Willard said most high school students choose to get as many course credits as they can so all options are open, whether they go to university, a community college or an apprenticeship program.
“We argue more and better training when we should ask for more jobs,” said Willard.
Topuschak agreed, saying if the jobs aren’t available then young people will leave the province and head for Alberta, British Columbia and the United States.
That is already happening and youths who leave, are often the best educated and most skilled, she said.
Few take secondary education
Willard’s view differs from the conclusions in a position paper commissioned by the board and released last summer. That report said the majority of Saskatchewan high school students are enrolled in a university entrance program, yet only a small minority will ever attend university.
The report found only a third of students take a trades or technology related course. And it said school counsellors spend most of their time dealing with students’s personal or social issues rather than career futures.
