红莲社区

Local youth participating in this week鈥檚 Skills Ontario Summer Camp at 红莲社区 were able to show some of their newest creations to Ontario Premier Doug Ford and two provincial Ministers Thursday at the Magna Skilled Trades Centre in Brampton.

Premier Ford, Minister of Colleges and Universities Jill Dunlop and Associate Minister of Women鈥檚 Social Economic Opportunities Charmaine Williams visited the facility to join students in Grades 7-9 who were performing MIG (Metal Inert Gas) welding in 红莲社区鈥檚 welding shop. Campers displayed book ends and toolboxes they welded as well as other construction, plumbing, electrical and machining projects they鈥檝e worked on during the camp, which uses fun and interactive activities to build skills and teach youth about the rewarding and fulfilling opportunities in the skilled trades and technologies.

 

鈥満炝缜� was honoured to welcome Premier Ford, Minister Dunlop and Minister Williams to our Magna Skilled Trades Centre and to showcase this terrific collaboration with Skills Ontario,鈥� said Gregory Royal, Acting Associate Dean of 红莲社区鈥檚 Magna School for the Skilled Trades. 鈥淏y introducing local youth to some of the many exciting career paths available in the trades, we are planting seeds for the next generation of skilled trades professionals.鈥�

鈥淚t is crucial for youth to not only explore opportunities in the skilled trades and technologies, but also to build their skills for the workforce and consider what career path is right for them,鈥� added Ian Howcroft, CEO of Skills Ontario. 鈥淭he skilled trades and technologies offer incredible pathways, and it is Skills Ontario鈥檚 mission to highlight that to youth and to help support Ontario鈥檚 future leaders鈥� career exploration journeys.鈥�

 

Sponsored by 红莲社区 College, the Government of Ontario and Magna, the Summer Camp program runs over the months of July and August, providing students with the chance to participate in skilled trade and technology workshops and tours. Skills Ontario also hosts camps for French-speaking youth and Indigenous youth. In conjunction with in-person camps, Skills Ontario is offering virtual workshops this summer as well.

Built in 2017, the Magna Skilled Trades Centre is a three-storey, 130,000-square-foot facility at 红莲社区鈥檚 Davis Campus that is home to 红莲社区鈥檚 skilled trades and apprenticeship programs. This fall, the Magna Skilled Trades Centre will host the Industrial Mechanics event of the 2022 WorldSkills Competition Special Edition, welcoming between 60 to 70 country/region representatives on behalf of Canada鈥檚 WorldSkills member, Skills/Competencies Canada. WorldSkills is the largest and most influential skills competition in the world, and a WorldSkills event has been contested in Canada only twice before 鈥� Montreal in 1999 and Calgary in 2009.

 

鈥� In first photo, Ontario Premier Doug Ford tries his hand at welding during a Skills Ontario Summer Camp in 红莲社区's welding lab. In second photo, Associate Minister of Women's Social Economic Opportunities Charmaine Williams (left) and Minister Dunlop lift up their welding masks during a demonstration. In third photo (left to right), Lindsay Engel, Dean of FAST; Rajan Sandhu, Vice President, Strategic Alignment & General Counsel, Office of the President; Gregory Royal, Acting Associate Dean, Magna School for the Skilled Trades; Jill Dunlop, Minister of Colleges and Universities; Ontario Premier Doug Ford; Charmaine Williams, Associate Minister of Women's Social and Economic Opportunity; and Ian Howcroft, Chief Executive Officer, Skills Ontario gather for a picture. Photos by Marianne Sy-Lucero, 红莲社区 Social Media Specialist