A video contest to encourage young people's participation in trades could put a Tri-City high school student in the spotlight.
The Discover Trades BC "Show Us Your Skills" video contest is open to BC high school students (13 years or older). All they have to do is create a short video about a trade they love (like carpentry, electrical, welding, cooking or hairstyling). Once they submit the video they can ask their friends and fellow students to vote.
The ten videos that get the most votes move on to be judged (for creativity and passion for their trade) by the experts:
Mike Holmes (from HGTV's Holmes on Homes, Holmes Inspection and Holmes Makes It Right),
Suki Takagi (owner of Suki's International Hair Salons),
Trevor Bird (Top Chef Canada & Fable)
Bob McHugh (automotive columnist at The Province).
The top contestants will win Apple products for themselves and up to $2000 cash for their high school to support trades and technology education. Videos must be submitted no later than April 30, voting begins May 1 and the three winners will be announced by June 18.
Recent BC Labour Market statistics indicate that by 2020 there will be more than one million job openings in BC and nearly half of those jobs will require trades and technical skills. "Encouraging students to pursue a career in trades now will help fill these job openings in the future," states Kelly Betts, Project Lead for Discover Trades BC, journeyman welder and educator, "a career in trades is a rewarding and fulfilling career option and offers a great future."
Discover Trades BC is an initiative of the Trades Training Consortium of BC. Its goal is to increase awareness and interest in trades among British Columbia's secondary school students. Ultimately, the goal is for more BC students to consider a career in the trades and for more teachers to introduce trades to students in the classroom. Students, parents and educators can discover these opportunities on the Discover Trades BC website here.
