A group of young trades workers were recognized for their hard work at a GISS ceremony on Friday afternoon.
The six apprentices were awarded $1,000 from the Ministry of Education for continuing their work in the trades after high school graduation. The awards went out to 2017 graduates who were able to complete 900 hours of training at their jobs. Since many tradespeople do not need tuition, the cash award helps them pay for anything they need to help their careers, from tools to rent and groceries.
The students graduated last year from the Youth Work in Trades Apprenticeship program at GISS. Program teacher Shari Hambrook explained that the program lets students start working and learning on the job while they’re still in high school as registered apprentices under the Industry Training Authority.
The six students honoured this year were Sarah Mollin, who took the culinary program; Andrew Chan, an electrician; Wyatt Scheres, who studied auto mechanics; Harrison Bradley, a welder; Cole Viberg, plumber; and Tyler McWhirter, who apprenticed in carpentry. While the award is given out each year to GISS graduates, this year there were recipients from each trade taught in the program, according to Hambrook.
For more on this story, see the May 30, 2018 issue of the Gulf Islands Driftwood newspaper, or subscribe online.