Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, moving from school to workplace is a challenge for students right across Canada. Most occupations require a specific set of skills, and helping students move successfully from school to work benefits students and employers. It also helps this government reach its objective of strengthening the capacity of the northern workforce to meet the demands of the job market.
Education, Culture and Employment's strategic plan to 2010 identifies improving the link between school and work as a priority. To accomplish this, we must work with our partners. "Strengthening the Links Between Education and the Workplace" is the theme of Education Week, which is March 16th to 22nd this year.
There are a variety of projects and programs which the department, students, parents, business and other partners in education are working on this year which reflect this theme.
Mr. Speaker, as of this academic year, all students entering grade 10 must have a career and program plan in place. Every student and his or her parents, with guidance from school staff, will have developed the career plan the student will follow. This plan helps students select the senior secondary school courses they need to reach their career goals.
Other departmental initiatives designed to help students make the transition to the workplace include development of a strategy to integrate career education into curriculum from kindergarten to grade 12, and publication of an annual career development newspaper targeted to youth. I will be sending a copy of the newspaper to each Member of this Assembly for information.
Mr. Speaker, my department's six regional career centres have played an important role in helping students learn about the career options by organizing career and post-secondary fairs, and by providing support to school staff. Career centres also provide counselling, workshops, resources, assessment and employment support programs.
The new career and technology studies curriculum also plays an important role in helping students plan their careers and develop skills. The curriculum is extremely flexible, allowing students a good deal of choice in occupations they wish to learn about. These include communication technology, construction technologies, entrepreneurial skills, health sciences, renewable resources and the list goes on. Students learn the necessary theory and how to apply it in a work situation.
Mr. Speaker, partnerships with business and industry play an important role in career and technology studies. To ensure that the curriculum is relevant to the world of work, business, industry and post-secondary institutions have been invited to assist in the development, validation and implementation of career and technology studies. Students are expected to achieve at a level consistent with entry-level standards set by business, industry and post-secondary institutions.
The schools north apprenticeship program is another initiative designed to give students work experience. Students spend part of their time working in industry as registered apprentices and receive school credits under the career and technology studies curriculum. This year, six apprentices are participating in program pilots in four communities. They are working in the trades of carpentry, mechanics, hairstylists, partsperson and gasfitter. Education, Culture and Employment is developing promotional material to generate greater support and understanding of the program among students and employers.
Youth have further opportunities to learn about the workplace through the youth initiatives program, which funds organizations which help youth improve their workplace skills. In 1995-96, we have approved 28 proposals from across the NWT, for a total of $433,000. Some of the projects have focused on work experience in occupations such as welding, retail sales, theatre productions and recreational leadership training.
Projects offering career development through cultural experiences have ranged from on-the-land workshops for youth and elders to river rafting and outward bound-type experiences. One project helped youth with fetal alcohol syndrome -- or effect -- to make the school-to-work transition by coaching them and their now employers over an extended period.
The training-on-the-job program also helps young people gain skills for permanent employment by assisting employers to hire and train youth over a one to two-year period.
Mr. Speaker, to help students move successfully from school to the workplace, we have sent a list of potential Education Week activities to each school and board of education to encourage greater communication between schools, families and employers. I feet confident that strengthening these links will provide employers with a greater number of qualified employees and students with greater job opportunities. As Members of the Legislative Assembly, I look to your continued support for the development of a skilled northern workforce. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
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