Rotary Career Symposium

04 | careersymposium.ca Supported by ROTARY 20TH CAREER SYMPOSIUM EXPLORE YOUR OPTIONS MARCH 14–16, 2017 TUES 6PM–8PM • WED & THURS 9AM–3PM RBC CONVENTION CENTRE #RCS2017 #CAREERSYMPOSIUM of academic advisors are faculty members More than 80% of students would recommend Booth UC to friends/family Average 25 students or fewer per class Student to faculty ratio 12:1 OUR PROGRAMS NEW FOR FALL 2017 Learn more: BoothUC.ca/Business Explore: BoothUC.ca/Academics "Coming from a small community, the thought of going to a large university where there were a couple hundred students in each class terrified me. Booth UC's small class size (average 25 students or fewer) is a comfortable fit, and I've been able to thrive and receive needed one-on-one time with professors. Faculty always make time for students. They are approachable and open to discussing questions outside of the classroom. They have made my post-secondary experience easier and better than I ever thought possible." WHY BOOTH UC? EDUCATION FOR A BETTER WORLD Valentina McKay, Third year Psychology student A FEW GOOD REASONS TO CHOOSE BOOTH UC BoothUC.ca/#VirtualTour START YOUR VIRTUAL EXPERIENCE Learn more: BoothUC.ca/Business BoothUC.ca/Academics START YOUR VIRTUAL A FEW GOOD REASONS TO CHOOSE BOOTH UC BoothUC.ca/#VirtualTour EXPERIENCE • Bachelor of Business Administration • Bachelor of Social Work Five Bachelor of Arts programs: • Behavioural Sciences • English and Film Studies • General Studies • Psychology • Religion Booth UC Business students can now major in: • Accounting • Financial Crimes • Management & Innovation • Marketing & Communications HIGHER EDUCATION FOR A HIGHER PURPOSE. C M Y CM MY CY CMY K CANADIAN MENNONITE UNIVERSITY University Real-world approach at Tec Voc BY TODD LEWYS Suffice it to say, Tec Voc (Technical Vocational) High School is no ordinary high school. That's because for 66 years, those at the institution have made it their mission to prepare its students for post-secondary education or the work world by offering practical, hands-on academic- based and technical vocational programs. Tec Voc's vice-principal, Joyce Wong, said students attending the Rotary Career Symposium (which runs March 14-16 at the RBC Convention Centre) can drop by a pair of booths to experience presentations that will provide them with some insight into its practical approach to education. "We'll have two booths that students can visit," she said. "The first will be a culinary booth, while the second one will showcase our photography program." Not surprisingly, the presentations will be very practical — and real. "The culinary booth will take on the theme of our live cooking show, Taste the Pulses," said Wong. "Our culinary program co-ordinator, Livia Gloux, will basically do cooking demonstrations as she would on TV." Which is to say, each session will be highly interactive. "Livia will talk as she goes, providing step- by-step instructions on the different steps and ingredients required to make a dish, and will go over other aspects of the process, such as health and safety," added Tec Voc's vocational resource teacher, Toby Punton. "The best part of the presentation will be the food samples." The photography booth also figures to be just as interactive, said Wong. "We will actually have students sharing about more basic skills such as lighting, backgrounds and lenses. They will then go into more detail on finer skills such as sports photography, still photography, and even the ins and outs of doing photo shoots on food." Punton said the purpose of the presentations offered at both booths will be simple. "The idea is to give students a good idea of what it will take them to get career/job ready. We want the whole process to be as informative as possible." As is to be expected, the two booths will provide just a small sample of the educational options Tec Voc offers high school students. Not only does the school, based at 1555 Wall St., offer students a dual-diploma (academic/ vocational) option, but it also provides access to 50 trade programs that allow them to start apprenticeship training while still in high school. "There are 19 programs — examples are welding, construction, carpentry and machining — that are geared for entry right into the workforce," Punton said. "Students can take a one-year post high school trade. It involves some theory, safety instruction and some major, hands- on learning." In the case of construction and carpentry students, learning is very hands-on. "One group actually had the opportunity to participate in building a two-storey home, from all framing, to wiring and all the other things that come with building a home," he said. "It was a highly collaborative process, and it was a great experience for students to see how a project comes together. It's a pretty unique opportunity that you don't get at other schools." Wong said the school's real-world approach to preparing students for the workforce truly works. "Take our aerospace program, for example. We have 400 program graduates, and 80 per cent of them are gainfully employed in the industry. We see similar success with our other programs. That success comes from the fact that our programs are hands-on, practical and real-life." Punton agreed. "A lot of good things are going on here," he said. "That hands-on approach is critical. It's the only way to properly prepare students for the challenges they'll face working in the real world on a day-in, day-out basis." To find out more about Tec Voc, visit tecvoc.ca, call 204-786-1401 or email them at tecvoc@wsd1.org. TEC VOC TAKES A HANDS-ON APPROACH TO PREPARING STUDENTS FOR THE WORKFORCE. Tec Voc photo

• Cover