Grade 8 Explores the Trades at Southern Alberta Collegiate Institute

Earlier this week, our Grade 8 students had an incredible opportunity to step off campus and into the world of skilled trades. Joined by Ms. Bertschy and Ms. Racz, students made the trip down to the Southern Alberta Collegiate Institute at Lethbridge Polytechnic to take part in a program through the School of Apprenticeship and Continuing Education — and by all accounts, it did not disappoint.

The day began with a hands-on look at the electrical trades, where students got to explore what a career in that field actually looks like — the training, the skills, the day-to-day work. From there, the group toured the broader trades programs at the institute, getting a real feel for everything from construction and welding to culinary and beyond. It was one of those days where you could see students genuinely surprised by what was in front of them — in the best possible way.

This kind of experience is exactly what we are trying to build more of at Bassano School. Alberta Education and the Government of Alberta have put a real emphasis on career pathways in recent years, and rightly so. The message is clear: there is no single road to a good life after high school, and our job as a school is to make sure students know that before they have to choose. Whether that means university, a trade, a college program, or something in between — students deserve to make those decisions with their eyes open, not just guess at what is out there.

For our Grade 8s, this trip was less about making a decision and more about building awareness. What does an apprenticeship look like? What would I actually be doing every day? Would I be good at this? Those are real questions, and a day at the Southern Alberta Collegiate Institute does more to answer them than any classroom conversation could.

This visit connects to the broader work we are doing around Career Pathways programming at Bassano School — helping students at every grade level explore options, understand next steps, and connect their interests to real possibilities. We will keep building on these kinds of experiences as students move through junior and senior high, so that by the time they are sitting down to plan their futures, they have something meaningful to draw from.

A big thank you to Ms. Bertschy and Ms. Racz for making the trip happen, to the School of Apprenticeship and Continuing Education at the Southern Alberta Collegiate Institute at Lethbridge Polytechnic for welcoming our students so warmly, and to Cam Bernhard, Grasslands Public Schools' Career Pathways Teacher, whose ongoing support of Bassano School's work in Career Pathways, Dual Credit, and Off Campus Education continues to open doors for our students in real and meaningful ways.