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Find Your Fit finds the North Coast

Northwest B.C. has always been a diverse hub for different jobs and these days, kids are learning quicker than ever what's available
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WorkBC’s Find Your Fit tour arrived at Charles Hays Secondary School last Thursday. The team helped elementary students and high school students (and parents) find a career to work toward.

Northwest B.C. has always been a diverse hub for all kinds of different jobs and these days, kids are learning quicker than ever not only finding what’s available, but how to get involved in their chosen field.

Last Thursday, WorkBC’s ‘Find Your Fit’ interactive showcase came to Charles Hays Secondary School (CHSS) and through interactive module stations and technology, elementary school students, high-school students and even adults were able to learn about getting involved in in-demand industries here on the North Coast.

“For the younger kids, it’s about finding out which occupations are available and giving them a springboard into the future of their careers, and for the older kids it’s about setting goals to help them use our resources and our tools to navigate the labour market,” said Find Your Fit tour manager Ryley Ellement.

What used to be only available through in-depth research and asking around can now be found right here – with everything from salaries, employment rates, unemployment rates and everything in between.

Here in the Prince Rupert area, millwrights, welders, heavy equipment operators, electricians, framers and carpenters are in-demand jobs. The most asked about careers in northwest B.C. are millwrights, nursing, nurse’s aide, firefighting and truck driving. Once students see some of the base salaries and what further education, trade certificates or apprenticeship can boost to those salaries, they can get very interested, said Ellement.

“We like to showcase what’s prominent in the area. There are tons of opportunities out there, hundreds of thousands of opportunities and careers. [It’s] not just your police officer, not just your fireman or lawyer anymore, there’s tons of options,” he added.

Some of the interactive modules included simulated driver training and spatial awareness for truck drivers, a simulated conversation at the social worker station, electric wiring practice for potential electricians and many more.

Once the students (or adults) are interested in a certain career, Find Your Fit gives them more information to take home.

“We send them home with a booklet as well as a little promotional card and it has all our resources and tools that we told them about. They can go home and continue to do further research on the same resources and links ... including a five-minute video of “A Day in the Life” for that job,” said Ellement.

“I think it’s important for kids of this generation to see what’s going on as opposed to being told by your parents. Technology has changed a lot of things.”

Find Your Fit has visited Terrace, Kitimat, Williams Lake, the Interior, Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island with Prince Rupert being its 15th stop this fall.

To learn more about Find Your Fit, visit www.findyourfittour.ca.