Education

WINNIPEG FREE PRESS - THURSDAY, AUGUST 4, 2016 5 The question "What do you want to be when you grow up?" can be a loaded one. A lot of young people simply don't know enough about potential careers by the time they graduate from high school. E nter Career Trek. This innovative program introduces young Manitobans to a variety of careers from the time they're 10 and 11 years old. The children receive hands-on training that allows them to experience what it's really like to work in a particular field. "When we first said we needed to get to young people and talk about careers, people thought it was crazy, but our program demonstrates the relevancy of school and the relevancy of their courses," explains founder and CEO Darrell Cole. "If they don't see a connection between school and their lives, it's just pointless hard work and they disengage." Every week the students experience four different occupations, which could include fixing an airplane, being a makeup artist for live theatre productions, or operating on an animal cadaver. Over the course of the program (which usually ends when students graduate from high school), the participants will get to experience 80 different occupations in 17 different fields. "Shining a light on the multitude of careers available out there is a win-win for everybody. We provide young people with clarity," Cole says. "Why is anyone going to post- secondary schools when they're not sure what they want to do? How many people end up dropping out of university?" Government funding has turned Career Trek from a Winnipeg program into a provincial one that is now available in several different regions. "It's always been about young people getting to know themselves and breaking down the barriers to their success," says Cole, adding that Career Trek also teaches social responsibility. "If you aren't teaching morals and ethics, are you really improving things or just creating highly-skilled monsters? I always tell our students that I'm not worried about them being a success. I'm worried about what they're going to do with their success." He uses the students in one of Career Trek's construction programs as an example. "They could have made something for themselves, but instead they made dog homes," he said. "The homes were raffled off to raise money for Career Trek scholarships and then donated to communities having problems with dog populations." One of the careers currently in high demand in Manitoba is medical laboratory technologist (MLT). This fast-paced, demanding job is also very rewarding, says Adam Chrobak, registrar and CEO for the College of Medical Laboratory Technologists (MLTs) of Manitoba. "Even though we're behind the scenes, we help a lot of people," he says, adding that over 2,000 medical laboratory tests are performed every day in Winnipeg. "The medical profession would find it very difficult to do their jobs without lab results." While there are 965 practising MLTs in the province right now, Manitoba loses 50 to 60 each year due to retirement. "We're facing an acute shortage, so this is a good job market to get into right now," says Chrobak. "It's great for people who are fascinated with science and how the body works." Students must take 30 credit hours of university prerequisite courses before enrolling in the two-year program at Red River College. "Currently, you need to take the prerequisite courses at university, but we're working to have them included as part of the Red River program," Chrobak says. "Even though the program is two years, it's very fast paced. They pack a lot of information into a short amount of time." The program runs for a full 23 months, with one week off during the summer and another at Christmas. "Twenty years ago, people knew they wanted to do this and came straight from high school. Today, a lot of our students are slightly older and want to do something different, want a second career," says Chrobak. "I've always found it rewarding that what I was doing was helping people find out what's wrong with them (so they could) then get better." CAREER CLARITY By Holli Moncrieff for the Free Press C M Y CM MY CY CMY K APPRENTICSHIP copy.pdf 1 2016-07-27 11:12 AM Specialists in First Nations education and training www.yellowquill.org (204) 953-2800 MF11710-0109 YellowQuill – General Ad Brandon Career Symposium: 3.75" x 2.375", CMYK, January 2009 Publication 11710 Yellowquill 3.75x2.375 Symposium Ad.indd 1 01/16/09 9:26:21 AM Adam Chrobak of the College of Medical Laboratory Technologists of Manitoba. Photo by Darcy Finley COLLEGE OF MEDICAL LABORATORY TECHNOLOGISTS & CAREER TREK "Shining a light on the multitude of careers available out there is a win-win for everybody. We provide young people with clarity."

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