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12TuesdayOctober12013PhotosMariaChurchByMARIACHURCHPlumberorelectriciancar-penterorcookThoseweresomeofthelifechoicesswirl-ingaround51highschoolstudentsmindslastweekduringtheTradesAware-nessProgramTAPheldatAuroraCollegesThebachacampusinFortSmith.ForvedaysstudentsfromthevehighschoolsintheSouthSlaveregionwereex-posedtointroductoryclassesexploringeighttradesfromplumbingtotourismalltaughtbycollegeinstructorsortrades-peopleinthecommunity.Thisisanopportunityforstudentswhohaventcho-senwhattheyplantodowiththeirlivesanditgivesthemachancetoseeandtryoutsomeofthethingsthattheymightdoiftheywentintothetradesJanieHobartthisyearsTAPcoordinatortoldTheJournal.Werehighlyencouragingpeopletogointothetrades.Notthatthereisanythingwrongwithuniversitybutwiththetradesitsveryhands-onandalotofpeo-plelikeworkingwiththeirhandsHobartsaid.ThisistheeighthyearthecollegehasteamedupwiththeSouthSlaveDivisionalEduca-tionCouncilSSDECandtheGNWTdepartmentofEduca-tionCultureandEmploymenttoholdTAPwhichbringsstu-dentstothecollegetoexposethemtothefacilitiesequip-mentandexpertise.TypicallybecauseoftheirsmallsizemanyschoolsintheNWTarenotabletoofferava-rietyoftradesCurtisBrownsuperintendentofSSDECsaidinapressrelease.Brownaddedthatstudentinterestcanbepiquedbyinteractionwithpropertoolsandequipmentusedinthetrades.Fundingfortheprogramissplitbetweenallthreepartnersandincludesagrantfromthefederalgovernment.Hobartsaidencouragingstudentstoenterintotradeshasbeenagovernmentprioritybothfed-erallyandterritoriallyforanumberofyears.Thedemandisjusthugeshesaid.Theresashortageoftradespeoplerightacrossthecountryandsotheavailabilityofjobsiswonderful.Anditsawellpayingprofession.Weretalking65-an-hourandupforjourneymentradespeople-nottoobadachunkofchange.Hobartsaidstatisticsfromthepasteightyearshaveshownanincreaseinthelikelihoodofstudentsgoingonintothetradesaftertakingtheprogram.Moststudentsareinter-estedinitandsomearejustfascinatedshesaidaboutstudentreactionsthisyear.Manyofthecoursessawstudentsbuildorcreatesome-thingtangibletotakehomewiththemwhetheritbeabirdhouseincarpentryoranextensioncordintheelectri-ciancourse.TheoneswheretheycomeoutoftheclassroomwithaprojecttheygetreallyexcitedaboutitHobartsaid.ThisyeartheTAPpro-gramincludedtourismasatradeashospitalityisaburgeoningsectorinCan-adaandcurrentlyoneofthefastestgrowingemployersinNorthAmerica.Thereareallkindsofjobswithinthetourismareaandmanyofthemaretrades.Imthinkingcookshotelman-agementallthosekindsofthingsHobartsaid.OntopoftheworkshopsstudentsinTAPparticipatedinfuncompetitionssuchastheTradesOlympicsAmaz-ingRaceandMinutetoWinItandalsogotapresentationfromSkillsCanada.ForAgnesCockneyKristaJohnsonandCalistaBurkeallGrade9studentsatPWKthemostenjoyablepartwastheTradesOlympicswhichsawstudentsracethroughacourseofobstaclesincludingpiecingtogetherastructureoutofpipesscrewinginalightswitchandhammeringdownanail.ItsgreatbecausewegettolearnallthedifferenttradesandyougettoshowpeoplewhatyouvebeenlearningCockneysaid.ComespringthecollegewillhostparttwoofTAPamoreintensivetrainingforstudentsinoldergradeswheretheweek-longfocusisonasingletrade.SouthSlavestudentstrytheirhandattradesEducationTradesAcrowdofstudentscheereachotheronatthenishlineoftheTradesOlympicswherethenaltaskistohammerinanail.CaiusBellaGrade8studentfromPWKhooksuppower.InstructorCurtisLepinerightdemonstrateshowtotakeapartanalternatorduringintrotoheavydutymechanics.