Engagement through career training and exposure
Through conversations with students, parents, and our Mountainside Directions Committee, career exposure and skill training have stood out as key areas of focus for the upcoming year. Exposing students to future career possibilities and developing relevant workplace skills has proven to increase student engagement and better prepare them for life after high school. With this in mind, we plan to continue to devote attention to the development of career skills. Recent efforts include the following:
New Image College
In an effort to work towards our student engagement goal, Mountainside has partnered up with New Image College in Downtown Vancouver to offer an introductory course in the health and beauty industry. This partnership will create an opportunity for our students to develop new skills, spend time in a post secondary institution and learn from experts in the beauty industry.
Trades Based Training
Mountainside has partnered with Kwantlen Polytechnic University and the Squamish Nation Training Centre in previous years to run a trades exploration course as well an intensive ACE-IT Pipefitting program. These partnerships have proven to spark a passion and interest in students who have had long histories of school disengagement. Mountainside plans to continue to provide and develop opportunities such as these for our students.
Work Experience
Numerous students have been connected with work experience opportunities where they have been able to earn course credit, learn workplace skills and often secure future employment opportunities. Our Careers Teacher and Work Experience Facilitator will continue to support students in securing meaningful and relevant work experience opportunities that better prepare them to enter the workforce and work towards graduation.