Youth skills program unveiled

Representatives of Kal Tire and the Okanagan Boys and Girls Clubs get together to promote their partnership in a new national program, Skilled4Success. Pictured are (from left): Andrew Abley, Kal Tire; Tony Crescenzo, Kal Tire; Craig Monley, Okanagan Boys and Girls Clubs; Kevin McCarty, Kal Tire; Tammy Hoekstra, Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada; Jarrod Stocker, Okanagan Boys and Girls Clubs.

photo submitted

Share this story

Tweet

• Students learn skills in The City
• Bricks4Kidz builds skills
• Refine your networking skills
• Star unveils all-inclusive pass
• Program lifts Lumby
• LiveSmart program extended

Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada has partnered with Vernon’s Kal Tire to create a new national youth program called Skilled4Success.

With a national shortage forecasted in the skilled trades sector, Skilled4Success will provide essential pre-employment exploration opportunities, job skills training and job shadowing experiences for youth across Canada.

Skilled4Success is being implemented in 12 Boys and Girls Clubs for young Canadians aged 13 to 18 years, including Kelowna and West Kelowna.

They will have access to reliable information about the skilled trades, provincially-regulated apprenticeship opportunities and career planning. The two-phase program begins with a workshop setting through to March, followed by a job shadowing experience at a Kal Tire store, during February and March.

“Our Skilled4Success program, supported by Kal Tire, is built on Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada’s awareness of the shortage in the skilled trades sector and the importance of promoting this option to youth in our clubs,” said Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada president and CEO Pam Jolliffe.

“Skilled4 Success will inform young people about the skilled trades, offer on-site job shadowing, reliable career planning information, and support in pursuing a certified apprenticeship.

“Of the many and varied programs Boys and Girls Clubs offer, this is the first to focus on skilled trades, an area we know already is in high demand and will continue to be so well into the future.”

While there is a focus on the skilled trades, Skilled4Success is designed to help youth become skilled for a career. In addition to mechanic or auto technician apprenticeship experience, Kal Tire offers other career opportunities for youth to explore, everything from sales and service to operations and management.

“We are delighted to partner with Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada,” said Kal Tire president Robert Foord. “Kal Tire has a strong culture of training and developing our team members’ careers and being involved in an initiative that helps to better prepare youth for the workforce is a natural fit for us.”