A12 - The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, February 25, 1998 It begins in high school Career path a big boost IMAGINE being 22, finished your post-secondary training with no debts and with plenty of work experience, That’s the future facing Caledonia Secondary Schoo!’s first four apprenticeship students and program co-ordinator Cam Mackay hopes more students will take part. The pro- gram is financed by the provincigl government. A student in the program begins while still in high school by taking part in on-the-job training. After graduation, the province picks up tuition for post-secondary (raining and should the student have to go south, a travel allowance is provided, Students are also eligible for employment insur- ance during post secondary training. Mackay says the program is attraclive given that students graduating from university’ can face debt loads of more than $30,000. There are 160 areas in which students can apprentice, ranging from traditional fields such as carpentry and elec- trical work to professions such as baking and hairdressing. New carcers in the film industry are slated to be added to the list. Students can apply to join the apprenticeship program by age 15-16. Theoretically they could finish that ap- prenticeship by age 20-21. “To have something like this under your belt by age 21 is unbelievable,’’ says Mackay. Right now he says the average age of a person receiving a journeyman ticket is 47 years old. While students are in high school they try to squeeze in both work and school. By the time they graduate they have to have completed 480 work hours, which is good for 16 credits on their transcript. But that doesn’t mean a student in the apprenticeship program can let his or her grades fall. To stay in the pro- gram you have to have at least a C+ average, says Mackay. That provides inspiration to students who might otherwise not be motivated. “What's happening is that kids are finding out they need physics or math to do automotive mechanics,”’ said Mack- ay. Theatre future still undecided A KEY figure in the debate about what to do with the REM Lee Theatre worries the theatre will be shut down unless its school district owner agrees to create an arms- length, non-profit society to run the facility. Karen Birkedal of the Terrace Concert Society says a society separate from the school district will have the flexibility and control necessary to keep the theatre’s doors open. “If you want the theatre to be successful, whoever runs it can’t be running to the board all the time, asking for permission,’’ said Birkedal. The possibility of a non-profit society arose last year after the school district said continuing budget cuts have hurt its ability to finance the facility. _The.school board last year cut $100,000 from the REM Lee budget and from its Mount Elizabeth Theatre counter- part in Kitimat and then used a $60,000 theatre surplus to buffer the impact. Rental rates were also raised. But that won’t address future financial needs, leading to debate on the creation of a non-profit society to shoulder the burden, . Board trustees will meet March 4 to consider the issue. They’re under time pressure because any society would heve to be well established by the end of the school year. Trustees also have to determine how a society would run a building that’s used both for educational and community purposes. Secretary-treasurer Barry Piersdorff said the board has to decide how theatre employees, now board employees, will be treated under a new governing system. And trustees have to figure out how money the district now gets from the provincial government for the theatre will be allocated. Birkedal is also worried that user fees at the theatre haven't brought in enough revenue this budget year, so the theatres could even be in a deficit this year. And she believes alcohol may have to be sold at the theatre at some events to raise money. Baby's Name: Baby's Name: Ryin Kenneth Zanella Alexandra Taylor Bujtas Date & Time of Birth; Date & Time of Blrth: Jan. ¥8, 1998 at 6:15 a.m. Weight: 8 lbs. 6 02, Sex: Male Feb, 2, 1998 al 7:52 p.m. Welght: 9 lbs 3 oz. Sex: Female Parents: Kim Monteith & Ken Zanella Parents: Kim Daly & Sean Bujtas + + Baby's Name: Baby's Name: Brandon Brady Robert Slerra Halze Whitney Spencer Date & Time of Birth: Date & Time of Birth: Jan. 20, 1998 at 12:39 p.m, Weight: 3 {bs 3 oz, Sex: Male Parents: Tanya Halpin Feb. 3, 1998 at 12:34 a.m. Weights 7 Ibs 12.5 02, Sex: Female Parents: Holly McGlllls & Andrew Lawson + ' Baby's Name: ¢ Cody Richard Luke Wale Baby's Name: Date & Time of Birth: Dustin Cole Darling Jan. 23, 1998, 4:13 am. Dale & Time of Birth: Welght: 8 lbs loz. Sex: Male Parents: Mary Sampson & Clyde Wale Feb, 9, 1998, 3:23 p.m. Welght: 8 lbs 1007, Sex: Male Parents: Richard & Andrea Darling Get A Free Baby Gift. (Simple, huh?) Just see our service desk for more information ih =§ Overwaitea Sei 20S very own ibod pogie. Vid iL MI Pobrhibe (Ltaeé Money provides good inspiration, too. Most ap- prenticeship positions start at a wage of $8-10/hr, and after four years have the potential to finish at a wage up to $35 an hour or more. This type of deal doesn’t come without a commitment from the student to work hard. Dalen Wiebe, an apprentice automotive technician with Canadian Tire, puts in a 12-hour day between work and school. “You never see your friends,’ says Wiebe, ‘You just work.”’ He doesn't really mind though, knowing the com- mitment is worth it. ‘Who needs sleep anyways?’ he jokes. Most apprenticeship students wouldn’t work such long hours. Bul Wiebe and two of the other three students startled the apprenticeship program in their 12th year, so they have to try harder to finish the 480 hours of work that’s required for high school graduation. Greg Porter wishes he’d found out about the program sooner. He only learned about the apprenticeship program in October of his grade 12 year. **That’s when I started thinking about what ] wanted to do with my life.”’ He wasn’t sure if he wanted to commit four years of his life to a program, Porter is working for Sterling Electrical Services after looking at getting apprenticeships as a millwright and a machinist. Now he laughs as he tells a story about a friend who’s an apprentice carpenter, working on the same job site as him. “We had heaters inside and he was outside packing boards.” Porter loves his job —— and the fact that he stays clean — and says being in an apprenticeship program has given him more confidence about the future. ‘T’m getling paid to learn. That's the biggest thing I like about this,’’ says Porter. ‘‘I’m one step up on the rest.”’ UNDER THE HOOD — Dalen Wiebe is working as an apprentice at Canadian Tire while he finishes his grade 12 year. 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