Vocational schooling can pave the way to high-paying jobs:
Many students believe that the next natural step after graduating from high school is to go off to college. Secondary education has become such a common transition that many parents begin saving for college tuition as soon as their children are born.
Although college can be the next chapter in a student’s education, many teenagers still choose to attend trade school.
Television personality Mike Rowe says the country is in the midst of a skilled labour shortage because workers lack the necessary training to fill the hundreds of thousands of available jobs.
Lack of information may drive the notion that trade jobs are nothing more than a backup plan if college doesn’t pan out.
However, by realizing that trade jobs, along with short-term vocational training, is a smart investment — and eventually a lucrative career choice — attitudes about trade schools and labor-intensive jobs may shift.
A great number of college graduates enter the workforce with degrees that may not help them land jobs. And these students typically carry thousands of dollars in tuition debt.
Many college grads are underemployed and working in jobs that aren’t even in their fields of study. Career and technical schools help students develop specialized skills that make graduates immediately marketable in their chosen fields, and trade salaries can be very competitive.
Western Quebec Literacy Council
As identified by the Canadian office of Literacy and Essential Skills, there are nine essential skills that employers look for when hiring employees.
The skills are as listed: reading, document use, writing, numeracy, oral communication, thinking, digital technology, working with others and continuous learning.
The Western Quebec Literacy Council (WQLC) works to equip its clients with the tools they need to be successful in the workplace.
WQLC students can work to improve their skills at their own pace with free and private tutoring.
“We work with our clients to identify goals and then we pair them up with tutors that will help them take steps to be successful,” said WQLC Executive Director Michèle Gagnon.
