Working on the farm and taking advantage of a work-experience program in high school has a college student a step up as he reaches to pull wrenches.
“I had friends who were talking about RAP (Registered Apprenticeship Program) when I started in high school,” said Carter Seney, who graduated from St. Luke’s Outreach Centre in Okotoks last November. “I came into St. Luke’s and I wanted to see if I liked welding.
“I think the RAP program provides you the chance to see what kind of trade you want to take.”
RAP allows high school students to earn credits while learning a trade with hands-on experience at a shop or in the field.
Seney is now taking his first-year apprenticeship at Lethbridge Community College.
“We want kids in the trades,” said Val McLellan, teacher/guidance counsellor at St. Luke’s. “We want them to be in high school and we want them to finish high school — that is a requirement of RAP.”
St. Luke’s is an alternative school in Okotoks which allows students to take a mix of online courses and some small classroom instruction. It caters to students who don’t feel comfortable in a traditional high school or possibly face a unique timetable issue.
Seney spent all three of his high school years at St. Luke’s with a goal to finish early, so he could pursue a rodeo career.
He initially tried welding, but that didn’t spark his interest as much as he thought it would. He switched to heavy-duty mechanic.
“I went to Val and said I want to do this — and she showed me pretty much what I had to do,” Seney said. “She told me I had to get my blue book, and I had to keep track of my hours.”
He said he was able to accumulate many of his first-year apprenticeship hours through his RAP experience.
“I have a head start on people,” Seney said. “I have been pulling wrenches for a year now.”
Seney gained some of his mechanical experience as a result of working on the family farm near Blackie. Afterall, in the midst of harvest or seeding, time is money and having a handy person in the field can help the wallet.
He said the staff at St. Luke’s was flexible regarding his school work as he pursued his RAP hours at Rocky Mountain Equipment in High River and Brandell Diesel Inc. in Calgary.
Students can earn up to 40 high school credits through RAP. A minimum of 100 credits is needed for a high school diploma.
As well, RAP students receive a minimum wage from where they are learning their trade.
Christ the Redeemer Catholic Schools is presently looking for businesses and/or journeymen who may wish to take a RAP student under his or her wing.
Darcy Borys, who owns Fix R Up Kustoms, an automotive restoration shop near Turner Valley, is interested in helping out CTR Catholic by taking some RAP students in the future.
He has experience. He used to own a shop in Calgary and he estimates there were 70-plus RAP students who worked at the business.
“To this day there are a couple guys from that RAP experience who still work there,” said Borys, an autobody and heavy-duty mechanic. “The majority of the students had a passion for it.
“I really like the part you can teach them right from the get-go in a career they want to pursue... It’s a great way for the student to get ahead quick and it's good for the employer.”
There is already a Holy Trinity Academy student interested in taking RAP at Fix R Up Kustoms - Grade 11 student Bryden Borys, Darcy’s daughter.
Bryden has worked in the shop since she was three. Together father and daughter are building a 1970 Dodge Dart.
Louise Niven, an HTA business teacher, is presently working at connecting students with prospective mentors for RAP.
“The division is doing a push to get kids connected who want to do post-secondary in the trades,” Niven said. “We want to get some exposure to the trades in high school and they can follow it through after high school.”
For employers interested in taking on a RAP student, there are also cash incentives being offered to offset expenses through the Youth Internship Incentive Program.
To apply for the cash incentive: https://www.careersnextgen.ca/yiip/
