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A 4 - The Oakville Beaver, Tuesday D ecem ber 23, 2003 New chair at public board The Halton District returning e-mail' or `Their voicemail is full.'" School Board has a new chair and vice-chair. Chapin added that boards and parents need Oakville trustee Mary to hold Ontario's new Chapin was elected the new board chair and Liberal government to its promise of fully imple Milton trustee Paul Tate, menting the recent the vice-chair, at the board's inaugural meeting. Rozanski. Report on Chapin, a second-term enhancements to educa tion funding. trustee and former vice Chapin replaces long chair, defeated returning M ary Chapin time chair Ethel Burlington trustee Peggy Gardiner. The Halton Russell in a vote among trustees for the chair's position. Hills trustee held the position for six Tate, a first-time trustee, beat straight years. Chapin said she knew Oakville's Kelly Amos in his bid for Gardiner would not vie for the chair's role, but said regardless she would have vice-chair. Chapin called on the other 10 board tried for the job. members to pull together during a time The chair moderates meetings and of change, with five new trustees, and a ensure board protocol and policies are new political party in power in Ontario. met. The position is a one-year term "With five new faces at the board, with a pay of $10,000 annually. change is constant and change is need The vice-chair gets $7,500 and is ed....I challenge each trustee to be an expected to fulfill the chair's duties advocate for your own community and when called upon. all of Halton," Chapin said. Trustees receive a $5,000 annual "I truly hope I do not hear from your honorarium. All trustees have a $5,000 constituents that `My trustee is not expense account. 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If a virus is present in your home (i.e. through someone coughing) the ozone will combine with the droplet, converting it to Hydrogen Peroxide. · ion-generation technology: if the virus is airborne, it would be attached to a particle and our radio wave ionization would take it out of the breathing zone OAKVILLE VACUUM LTD 27 Years In Oakville! We repair all makes o f Vacuum Cleaners & Sewing Machines VISA 1 9 8 Speers Rd.,Oakville S 8 4 4 - 4 7 3 6 Just west of Kerr S t a '1 Halton Catholic District School Board proponents of the Ontario Youth Apprentice Program (OYAP) know they're backing a winner when it's clear the initiative effectively blurs the line between school and the working world. According to Holy Trinity Secondary School Electrician teacher Victoria Wyght Allison, many employers are general ly reluctant to take on first-term apprentices, worried about inadequate safety training and just how committed they real ly are. OYAP grads, however, are known for their dedication and heads-up attitude. "They can go on to a work site already safe and aware," said Wyght Allison, who spent the last year of her apprentice ship working on SkyDome. "The chances of them dropping out on a contractor are slim." The benefits to OYAP graduates are similarly sweet: some top performers in some skilled trades earn more than $100,000 a'year. These careers also provide benefits, vacation pay, pensions, free educational upgrading and a high degree of job satisfaction and respect. Many highly skilled workers use their skills and experi ence as stepping stones towards careers in management, while many others have gone into business for themselves. Simply put, employers and apprentices both benefit from apprenticeship training: employers help create a pool of skilled workers who can keep their businesses competitive, while apprentices receive training that will start their careers as skilled workers. According to Wyght Allison, skilled tradespeople like electricians are in such demand that they can often pick and choose which jobs they want to take on, a freedom rarely enjoyed by desk-bound office workers. Wyght Allison is. living proof of this: a construction main tenance electrician by trade, she teaches one semester in school (taking a pay cut to do so) and spends the summer "in the world." This includes Ford of Canada, for example, where she worked on robotic components at the Oakville Assembly Plant (OAP) in preparation for the new Freestar. What she learns she brings to class, and the respect students have for Wyght Allison goes a long way. "People like her ensure we offer current and relevant pro gramming," said Board Curriculum Consultant Robert De Rubeis. Georgetown's Matt Pignatell, a Holy Trinity Electrician student, said his "passing interest" in the program has blos somed into dedicated study and he offered some direct advice for young people debating whether or not to take advantage of OYAP opportunities. "Sign up!" he said. In fact, said Wyght Allison, many students show up for class long before they have to. That also goes for a recent placement where students performed electrical work in the second floor addition of a private home. "At that job, the last kid arrived 10 minutes early," she said. OYAP is a unique, post-secondary level "school to career" program specifically developed to prepare high school stu dents from both Catholic and public boards to make a smooth transition from high school directly into their post secondary apprenticeship program. By participating, high school stu dents (usually 17 to 20 years old) receive advanced standing in their desired apprenticeship while, at the same time, com pleting their Ontario Secondary School Diploma. OYAP integrates in-school learning through technology, math, science and English courses with practical experience obtained through co-operative education placements. The goal is to have participating students develop the work habits, knowledge, attitude and skills necessary for success in the workplace. "It is a proactive response to the needs of the community and the skilled trades shortage," said De Rubeis, who added that waiting lists for OYAP programs are growing. This deficiency is serious: in Canada, says the Information Technology Association of Canada, the shortfall has been estimated at no fewer than 20,000 unfilled jobs, growing to 50,000 by the year 2010. In addition, 83 per cent of respon dents to a Conference Board of Canada survey indicated that they were experiencing a shortage of skilled labour. At the same time, said the Alan King Double Cohort Study, Phase 2 Report, 2002, typically almost 50 per cent of all Ontario Grade 9 students in 2000 will not go to university or college and 25 per cent will not graduate at all. "The question is, what are we doing for the 50 per cent of our students who are not doing on to university or college?" said De Rubeis. Enter OYAP, which he says is great for at-risk students, those "who want more of a relationship with their future." As a result, both De Rubeis and Wyght Allison take excep tion to the outdated and patently false assumption that these students are somehow inferior to their more mainstream peers. "They're very bright people," said De Rubeis. Case in point: Physics students are sometimes brought in to observe the Electrician class and witness what until then had been only theory put to practice. "They leave impressed," said Wyght Allison, who recom mends that her students have Grade 12 Math and Physics under their belts. (Electricians must have their high school diploma.) Trust and team-building among her own students is also important, she continued, as seen during the job site place ment mentioned earlier. It was there that her class was divid ed into four teams whose members quickly learned to work alongside different people, just like they will in the "real world." "At first they were strangers but in no time they're best of friends," said Wyght Allison. "It was such a great day." De Rubeis explained that community partnerships are also essential to keep OYAP programs up and running. Ford has given materials and allowed students to tour the OAP. Karmax Heavy Stamping gave thousands of dollars worth of materials while Edwards Fire Alarm Systems donated a 10zone fire alarm panel. "It's good to have the programs, but we need to sustain them and keep them current," De Rubeis said. "A program can come to a grinding halt without something as simple as screws." The full backing of the Board is also vital, especially in an era of restricted budgets, said De Rubeis, who made special mention of the support of Superintendent Elaine Hine. Other programs currently being offered by the Catholic Board include everything from auto body and collision dam age repair, brick and stone masonry, welding and landscaping to floral design, early childhood education, cosmetology and restaurant services. Students who are interested in the OYAP program should contact their guidance counsellor, their technological studies department head or De Rubeis at 905-632-6300, ext. 568 or by email at derubeisr@haltonrc.edu.on.ca. For more information on OYAP and other school to career programs in Halton visit: www.schooltocareer.ca and click on the "STC Programs" link. Peter C. McCusker · Oakville Beaver Student Matt Pignatell with instructor Victoria Wyght Allison in the Ontario Youth Apprentice Program (OYAP)at Holy TVinity Catholic High School. Students should think about apprenticeship Young people wavering on whether or not to take advan tage of Ontario Youth Apprentice Program (OYAP) opportu nities should consider the follow facts: Apprentices have 90 per cent of their tuition paid by the government and can earn wages while they are completing their education, training and certification. - Many skilled trades people now make six-figure incomes with excellent benefits. - Skilled workers who have received their training in Ontario can work anywhere in the province. Agreements between the provinces and territories allow skilled workers in certain trades to work anywhere in Canada. - In the next two decades, 40 per cent of new jobs will be in the skilled trades and technologies. In 1998, that number was less than 20 per cent. - Many more people in the skilled trades are retiring than are entering the system. The hardest-hit industries will be manufacturing, construction, petroleum production and trans portation. - The Automotive Parts Manufacturers Association fore casts a 42 per cent vacancy rate for skilled trades by 2007 nearly 34,000 jobs but only 20,000 skilled workers will be available. - The average age of a fully qualified tradesperson is over 48 years old. Over the next seven to 10 years, there is expect ed to be 100 per cent turnover in many skilled trades. . - 40 per cent of new jobs in the next 20 years will be in trades and technologies - Under Canada's new Immigration point system, a person with a university degree and a Certified Trades Person are considered equal. - In a survey conducted by Ernst and Young (1999), 35% of the respondents said that a technical education would be more valuable in the workplace in the next 10 years than a university degree. Message to youths: smoking is a killer By JASON MISNER SPECIAL TO THE OAKVILLE BEAVER Halton Region's health department is hoping a unique anti smoking public service announcement on the big screen cap tures the attention of youths as they munch their popcorn. The 30-second spot doesn't feature Tom Cruise or Julia Roberts, but its message that selling or giving smokes to someone under 19 is illegal and could result in huge fines should be enough to perk the eyes and ears. The spots started appearing before the start of every main attraction at the Burlington 8 Famous Players movie theaters on Brant Street the first weekend of this month. They will continue until the weekend of Jan. 1. They alert everyone to the Tobacco Control Act which pro hibits those under-age from being sold or given cigarettes. Fines for a first conviction run as high as $4,000. "If you give a cigarette to a youth, you can be charged the same way as retailers," said Tony Amalfa, Halton's manager of environmental health. "It's socially unacceptable for young kids to smoke and for anyone to encourage it." Recent statistics show that 24 per cent of Halton youth aged 12 to 19 smoke, mirroring the provincial average. The program attempts to reduce that number by especially stop ping young kids from getting their first taste of a cigarette. The movie theatre initiative is an expansion to the sixyear-old Not to Kids program. Fifteen public health units, including Hamilton and York Region, send businesses a binder of information teaching them how to spot under-age kids and recognize fake identification. The program has an | annual total budget of $250,000 funded by the Province. The Burlington movie theatre was chosen as part of an agreement signed with Famous Players and Galaxy cinemas j on behalf of the 15 public health unit coalition, Amalfa said. Regional health staff will visit selected showings over the next couple of weeks and will ask young people questions about the PSAs. Staff will make it worth their while to partic ipate by giving out coupons for $5 off a movie admission. The Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care is expecting this different kind of initiative to make an impact. "It's to get their attention, hopefully, loud and clear j smoking kills and the studies back that up," said ministry spokesperson John Letherby. According to Cancer Care Ontario, tobacco is the single biggest cause of cancer. In this province, a quarter of cancer deaths - more than 5,000 deaths each year - are due to tobacco. Halton plans to set up advertising placards, possibly in high schools, denouncing smoking and the dangers of selling or giving butts to minors, hopefully in March.