The Toronto District school board announced as of September 2024, high school students are required to take a mandatory trade or technology credit course before graduation.
“I think this is a good opportunity because students have versatile options to explore different industries and be more hands-on,” said Trishelle Dotson, resident and mother in Brampton, Toronto.
The announcement was made on Friday, March 10. in Mississauga by Stephen Lecce, Minister of Education of Ontario.
According to the Government of Ontario’s news release, this mandatory credit in trades or technological education will encourage students into a “highly skilled workforce.”
As of this year over 100,000 trade positions are unoccupied, according to the news release, and TDSB’s goal is to incorporate more young people into long-lasting and financially reliable careers.
Stephen Lecce, Minister of Education in Ontario, was quoted in the news release from the announcement on Friday. Lecce said, ‘this requirement opens doors and new opportunities for jobs in STEM and skilled trades.’
“This encourages more younger women to explore trades if they're interested,” said Dotson.
According to data released from Statistic Canada this year, men account for 92 per cent of the trade-related occupations in Canada, whereas women account for seven per cent.
During an interview, Ian Howcroft, the CEO of Skills Ontario said, “there is still a negative stigma around trades - so the more we can portray and have students experience that exponential opportunity I think it’ll lead to positive experiences and a better understanding of the new realities.”
“Some perceptions may be completely outdated,” he said.
Howcroft said his daughter went to a high school in Oakville named, White Oaks Secondary school, which required students to take a technology or trade course.
I was putting down some stones, sort of my house for a step and my 15-year-old daughter just said, you know you're putting those down on upside down – she had taken a landscape architecture course in high school and taught me about it, so I think this is a really good move,” Howcroft said.
As industries and workplaces undergo a change in Canada, the educational curriculum is next to change for high school students in Ontario. The future of young people thriving in trades and technological industries, is yet to be determined.
Edited by Kavya Venkateshwaran
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