BRANTFORD—Roughly 2,400 Grade 7 and 8 students from across the Grand Erie District School Board and the Brant Haldimand Norfolk Catholic District School Board came together May 22, 2024 at the Wayne Gretzky Sports Centre in Brantford to attend Epic Jobs, where they had the chance to connect with over 50 businesses, trade unions, post-secondary schools, and service organizations centered around a career in the trades.
Haldimand Mayor Shelley Ann Bentley attended and said, “Empowering young people to find local, meaningful careers and connecting them with opportunities can help steer them on a path towards success and positively impact the local economy. There are so many creative, talented, and intelligent youth in our county that have a lot to offer. I thoroughly enjoyed attending Epic Jobs this year and it was great to see local representation from the manufacturing industry.”
Representatives from all major trades industries – including advanced manufacturing, construction, motive power, and service – were on hand as well.
With manufacturers like Stelco and Toyota, large scale employee unions like LiUNA, and institutions such as Mohawk, Fanshawe, and Conestoga College in attendance, the event offered something to appeal to a wide range of interests.
Students had the opportunity to speak one-on-one with professional tradespeople and take part in hands-on activities that introduced them to different job and apprenticeship opportunities.
Sophie Auger, project lead for the Workforce Planning Board of Grand Erie (WPBGE), said students could try their hand at soldering pipe, operating a crane, stripping electrical wire, using power tools, riding a scissor lift, and putting on safety equipment used by hydro workers, construction workers, and firefighters.
Students could also see heavy equipment up close, including a $1-million piece of forestry equipment; participate in a construction skills competition; or race around a police obstacle course.
“Organizations that employ or train people who work in service-related jobs, from youth worker to hairstylists, also showcased what they do,” said Auger.
She noted that planning the annual event is a months-long process, involving the co-ordination of multiple partners, including both regional school boards, the Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program (OYAP), Specialist High Skills Major (SHSM) operated by the school boards, and Organized Kaos, a carpentry and automotive shop that operates out of Brantford.
Auger said events like Epic Jobs showcase the trades as “well-paying, rewarding and in-demand – today and for many years to come.”
She added, “There’s a shortage of skilled trades in Canada, including here in the Grand Erie region that includes Brantford, Six Nations of the Grand River, Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, and Brant, Haldimand, and Norfolk counties. Yet, many students, and their parents, aren’t aware of the hundreds of trades-related occupations or that the trades are a career path they should look at.”
For the past five years, Epic Jobs has been addressing that lack of awareness.
WPBGE Executive Director Danette Dalton was encouraged to see that female students were just as engaged as their male counterparts in the day’s activities, “which is great to see because we need more women in the trades in the future.”
“The idea was simple,” concluded Auger. “Open their eyes. Inspire them.”
