Feds Poke Nose in BC High School Trades Classes

Mike Howard is used to criticizing what he sees as insufficient funding for technical education in British Columbian schools.

As president of the B.C. Technology Education Association, a specialist association of the B.C. teachers' union, Howard regularly hammers the provincial government to increase its support for B.C. tech ed, which covers everything from robotics to woodworking to automotive mechanics. He doesn't often succeed.

But lately, to his surprise, he's found a sympathetic ear in the federal government.

Tech ed is often a student's first introduction to working with their hands, and it inspires some to translate their passion into trades careers.

But Howard argues there isn't enough funding for it: districts are cutting teachers while expecting existing teachers to maintain shop equipment -- which most aren't trained to do -- and packing students into classes of 30 or more, which Howard calls "extremely dangerous."

Last week, however, Howard said he got a phone call from the federal Ministry of Employment and Social Development. The spokesperson talked with Howard about the need to invest in tech ed in middle and secondary schools in order to get kids interested in trades early on.

"Because if they don't, they don't see students going into post-secondary [trades training]," Howard said.

Addressing a skills 'mismatch'

Primary and secondary education fall under provincial jurisdiction, meaning all funding decisions are the responsibility of the B.C. government. The federal government transfers to the provinces for post-secondary and early childhood development and care, but nothing specifically for kindergarten to Grade 12.

When asked why the federal employment ministry contacted Howard's organization, a spokesperson said it was because of Canada's skills shortage and the national economy's "mismatch" between the skills Canadians have and the jobs that are available.

"To better understand these challenges, Employment and Social Development Canada contacted the B.C. Technology Education Association to obtain their perspective on technology education courses, shop programs and barriers to youth entering education in the trades," reads the statement, adding the ministry was specifically interested in Howard's opinion after reading an Oct. 27 Globe and Mail article about high school trades programs he was quoted in.

The email stated statistics from a Canadian Apprenticeship Forum and Skills Canada study that found 32 per cent of high school students said they would consider a career in skilled trades. The average age of entry for apprenticeships in Canada is 25, which the ministry says is high compared to other countries, and leads it to believe that high school students "do not see apprenticeship as the best pathway to the job market."

The spokesperson also linked to a speech Minister Jason Kenney gave to the Association of Canadian Community Colleges Summit in October that specifically referenced secondary education.

"Those of you in the college sector are providing young Canadians, not just young Canadians, many adult learners with relevant skills for the labour market of today and the future, but I'm not the first to suggest that, for some reason, our secondary school system by and large stopped doing so in the last couple of generations... I think it has something to do with the implicit bias that policy makers and politicians have -- all of them with their academic post-secondary degrees," reads the transcript, referring to the money invested in trades programs at the post-secondary level.

Last week B.C.'s Advanced Education Minister Amrik Virk announced $1.8 million in one-time funding for 456 seats in trades courses in B.C., specifically targeting trades with worker shortages predicted in the next 10 years.

Kenney went on to say it's biased for provincial governments to invest in post-secondary when they don't invest in secondary programs, too. He suggested teachers' unions were also to blame, because they make it harder to hire or become a tech ed teacher by insisting "everyone teaching in a high school have certification from a teacher's college."

"We ended up massively diminishing the vocational educational opportunities in the secondary school system. How many mechanics were going to go to teachers' college so they could teach shop?" Kenney said.

Howard said he also received phone calls from the B.C. Ministry of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training about technical education. The Tyee asked to speak with Minister Shirley Bond about why her ministry was contacting Howard directly as opposed to going through the education ministry, but she was unable to fulfill the request.

'More dialogue' promised, says Howard

To Howard, a phone call from the federal government signifies coming change for technical education in B.C. He hopes that includes more funding, but doesn't expect it from the provincial government.

"When I talked to this person from Ottawa, they asked me to keep it quiet. It was interesting the way he said it, but he said there's going to be more dialogue between myself and them in the next little bit. Again, I don't know what's going on," he said, adding that his own research found that the federal government put money into upgrading high school shop classrooms in B.C. during the 1960s.

He said the provincial government is making some changes to tech ed through its current curriculum review, but only to the courses available up to Grade 9. Courses for Grades 10 to 12 fall under graduation requirements, which are currently undergoing their own separate review. Changes that result from that review are expected to be in place next September.

In an emailed statement, B.C. Education Minister Peter Fassbender said the ministry estimates 134,000 kids will enroll in skills and trades courses this school year, including culinary arts, hair dressing, carpentry and welding, to name a few.

"The Ministry of Education, in partnership with the ministries of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training and Advanced Education, is working hard to find innovative opportunities to introduce B.C. students to possible careers in the skills and trades sector," reads Fassbender's statement.

"I encourage all districts to continue to develop and build on partnerships with post-secondary institutions and industry to expand skills training opportunities in their communities."

The three ministries already work together to offer the Accelerated Credit Enrolment in Industry Training (ACE IT) and the Secondary School Apprenticeship (SSA) programs. ACE IT registers students as young apprentices, offering them high school and post-secondary credits for taking trades courses, usually on a post-secondary campus. SSA offers students the chance to work in their chosen trade while taking high school tech ed courses, providing them with money and work experience while they learn.

Both courses run in collaboration with the Industry Training Authority, a Crown corporation that monitors trades training in B.C., and the Education Ministry contributes about $19 million to the programs each year.

Howard said these are great programs. But although he's a certified woodworker and capable of teaching the trade at a post-secondary level, there aren't enough kids in his own Revelstoke Secondary School to offer ACE IT.

"We get kids that sign up for SSA, which I think is a good idea. A lot of kids, after they've taken my course for two, three, four years, we get quite a few of them that go right into the trades right after that, rather than taking the ACE IT program," he said, adding he likes ACE IT courses but they often tie up shop classrooms, preventing the school from offering more tech ed to students outside the program.

Speaking on background, an Education Ministry spokesperson told The Tyee none of the districts who have submitted their annual capital plans to the ministry so far indicated tech ed shops needed to be built or expanded.

"When a district submits a capital plan, they have certain projects that they list as their priority. So the request to have a shop converted or added onto an existing site, none of the districts put those in their capital plans," said the spokesperson, adding districts could use the money provided in their annual facilities grants to upgrade or construct shops, too.

Howard agrees technical education isn't a priority for many districts. He considers his district to be an exception: there are one and a half full-time tech ed teachers at Revelstoke Secondary, a school of just under 400 students. Other districts aren't so committed.

"I came from Maple Ridge, and when I left there 12 years ago there were five full-time shop teachers in the one school. They're down to half a shop teacher (now)," he said.

"It's an expensive program to run, and some don't see the value in it, unfortunately."