Ottawa, ON, December 16, 2021 – Skills/Compétences Canada and Let’s Talk Science have once again joined forces to engage students in career discovery and exploration in another round of the Let’s Talk Careers Competition. The fall competition was held from October 25 to December 3, 2021, on the ChatterHigh platform. Participating students learned about careers in the skilled trades, technologies and STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics).
This round of the Let’s Talk Careers Competition had great participation from students across Canada which included 6,347 students from 241 schools in 115 school districts who visited 544,704 web pages to explore post-secondary, career and labour market information. In addition, 377 students won bursaries. The top schools, who received cash awards, were W.J. Mouat Secondary in BC, Bathurst High School in NB, Grace Christian School in PEI, and École Saint-Jacques in NB.
Skills Canada Saskatchewan shared their perspective on the impact of this competition as they recently held a Saskatchewan’s Most Informed School/Student provincial competition. “Online competitions like these are important for Skills/Compétences Canada and its Member Organizations because we are normally in the classroom providing hands-on programming with the students, but we can’t do that during the pandemic. Virtual competitions help us overcome these challenges because we can get right in front of the students, we are on their devices and computers, which helps them learn and get interested in skilled trade and technology careers. Also, this provincial competition allowed us to reach more remote and isolated communities in the province of Saskatchewan,” said Colin Phippard, Executive Director of Skills Canada Saskatchewan.
The ChatterHigh platform is simple to use and fun for students and teachers. It connects students to career opportunities and they can also win cash prizes. Every time a student answers a question during the competition, they are directed to the website of a company, college or university where there is information that can positively affect their lives. The Let’s Talk Careers Competition is a great tool to engage students and allows them to make connections to educational pathways in the skilled trades, technologies and STEM.
“When I went to school I didn’t have the opportunity to explore all of these careers and I think it’s awesome because every time students were on ChatterHigh, I got a new question from them. This competition piques their curiosity and opens up options for them”, said Mr. Dzuba, teacher at St. Theodore School, SK.
“I learned quite a bit about skilled trades and about universities and colleges. I only knew about one university before I took ChatterHigh and now I know lots of them!” said Ronnie G., student at St. Theodore School, SK.
Skills Canada Saskatchewan will be hosting a provincial competition from April 4 to 13, 2022. In addition, the next national competition will take place from April 11 to May 20, 2022. Canadian schools can participate for FREE. Learn more at: resources.chatterhigh.com/lets-talk-careers.
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About Skills/Compétences Canada
Founded in 1989 as a national, not-for-profit organization with partner Skills Canada organizations in each of the provinces/territories that work with employers, educators, labour groups and governments to promote skilled trade and technology careers among Canadian youth. Its unique position among private and public sector partners enables it to work toward securing Canada’s future skilled labour needs while helping young people discover rewarding careers. Skills Canada offers experiential learning opportunities including skilled trade and technology competitions for hundreds of thousands of young Canadians through regional, provincial/territorial, national and international events, as well as skilled trade awareness programs. Headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario, Skills/Compétences Canada is the Canadian Member Organization of WorldSkills.
Follow Skills/Compétences Canada on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Flickr, Instagram and LinkedIn.
About Let’s Talk Science
Let’s Talk Science is a national charitable organization committed to inspiring and empowering Canadian youth to develop the skills they need to participate and thrive in an ever-changing world. To accomplish this, Let’s Talk Science offers a comprehensive suite of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) based programs to support youth, educators and volunteers across Canada. For more information about Let’s Talk Science, visit www.letstalkscience.ca.
Media Contacts:
Michèle Rogerson, Skills Canada, micheler@skillscanada.com, T. 613-266-4771.
Kate Soper, Let’s Talk Science, ksoper@letstalkscience.ca T. 709-689-4303.
