Kickstart a career in the trades while in high school

Jared: dual-credit grad to carpenter foreperson in the blink of 10 years

Jared has climbed the ladder rather quickly in his carpentry journey.

A decade ago, he was among the first graduates of the Dual-Credit Pre-Employment Carpenter certificate offered at SAIT. He was also the first to obtain his journeyperson certificate and was only a week into turning 21 when he received his Red Seal Certificate — meaning he demonstrated the knowledge required for the national standard in that trade. Typically, individuals might expect to complete the certification when they are a few years older, maybe starting an apprenticeship after high school or taking a slight detour in their career trajectory. But pursuing the dual-credit program allowed Jared to complete his first year of post-secondary schooling before crossing the stage for his high school graduation.

In the dual-credit program, he learned carpentry basics, like framing, and built small take-home projects like a tool tray and a wooden mallet.

“It was nice to see that you would enjoy what you would be doing,” says Jared. “The instructors made it really easy.”

He spent the summer after Grade 11 labouring for a construction company building a high school in northeast Calgary and later joined the company as a first-year carpenter. From rough framing and foundations to assisting with finishing touches like the cabinets, hanging doors and hardware, he got his hands on a variety of tasks.
After graduating from the dual-credit program, Jared continued in the carpentry apprenticeship at SAIT, gaining experience around the province while working on different job sites. Now’s he back at SAIT as a foreperson on the Taylor Family Campus Centre redevelopment project.

Being a foreperson is a job title similar to that of a manager in an office — he’s responsible for pre-planning many of the logistics on the job site, as well as directing other carpenters and workers on site to ensure the work flows according to timelines. Being a foreman requires an ability to balance many players and pieces at once to get the job done.

The skills he needs to be a leader on the job site started developing during the dual-credit program, which taught him critical thinking, organization and discipline.

“It made me grow up really quickly,” he says. “In the trades, there’s a lot of mentorship. There’s a lot of independence in it too. When you show initiative and you’re safe with what you do, it’s quite often that you’ll get left to do a task on your own.”

Benjamin: jack of many trades in the RV technician program

Motorhomes, travel trailers and van conversions require many components — lights, cabinets, sinks and toilets, and the list goes on. In other words, variety is found in SAIT’s Dual-Credit Pre-Employment Recreation Vehicle Service Technician program, which involves skills found in 27 trades.

That kind of variety is why Benjamin chose the program, offered at the Point Trotter campus located in southeast Calgary.

Benjamin says his instructor emphasized safety and provided sage advice to record the details of vehicles he worked on, as well as any changes made to vehicles. Now he works as an RV technician and every day looks a little different, which is something he enjoys.

SAIT offers the only RV dual-credit program in Alberta aligning with the apprenticeship model. Graduates will have 360 hours of training under their belt, which include theory and hands-on lab-based components.

Tanner: sparks flew for welding early on

As soon as he finished the dual-credit program in welding, Tanner had a job lined up. He can proudly say he found work in his chosen field fresh out of high school.

In Grade 8, he already wanted to pursue welding, even switching high schools to attend one that offered a class in the trade. Why? It looked cool. Turns out, he was right, and he’s since had opportunities to assemble pipe for a new wastewater facility and building a conveyor belt to replace one that had burnt down.

Tanner credits the dual-credit program in welding for providing a sense of the real-world work environment and pushing him towards excellence. He also praises his welding and theory instructor Craig Sheppard for providing him with the know-how to get there.

“If you were doing something wrong, he would correct it right away,” says Tanner. “It made me a stronger welder.”
The dual-credit program solidified his choice of trade. For a high schooler interested in skilled trades, he says the dual-credit program is a no-brainer.

“Jump in with both feet. The dual-credit program offers you more than enough hands-on experience to get you started somewhere.

“When I showed up to the shop, I was welding right off the bat. For any high schooler considering going into the dual-credit program, it’s going to benefit them enormously.”

If the three testimonials weren’t convincing enough already, we’ve outlined advantages and commitments of the dual-credit program. Funded by the Alberta government, the program does not come at any extra cost to families.

Dual-Credit Program

Joey: a long-time camper and first-year welding student

A marshmallow gun made out of PVC pipes. A nameplate assembled with screws.

These are only a couple of the cool things Joey made at SAIT’s summer camps.

The first-year Welding And Fabrication Technology student is a real camp connoisseur, having spent six summers in a colourful SAIT t-shirt.

Name it and he’s likely done it — performing experiments, shooting basketballs, snapping photos of campus and drumming up the next big product in business — except for welding.

“We could be here all day,” he says, glancing down at a list of the camps he’s done over the years.
Once Joey was old enough, he became a volunteer and spent the summer of 2024 as a camp leader. He credits camps with providing him with an environment to try all sorts of activities, and become familiar with SAIT.

“It gave me a huge knowledge of the SAIT campus that I still use to this day,” he says.
“I grew to love SAIT as an institution, and that was probably the biggest impact.”

Joey gave welding a go in a fabrication technology high school class. The hands-on appeal of the trade brought him back to SAIT, where he’s learning the fundamentals of welding — techniques like weaves and stringers to create different patterns in metal. He understands the theory, but there’s a bit more of a learning curve in the practice part. He’s learned to enjoy the process, even as the ‘heartbreaker,’ the press used in class, either validates or breaks his work. His welds can’t just look pretty, they need to withstand pressure.

“It’s satisfying when you put it through the bend test and it doesn’t break apart,” he says.
While being a SAIT student is different from being a camper because now he faces tests and grades, Joey says they helped ease some anxieties as a first-year student. He knows how to find his classes, and is already familiar with services offered at SAIT, connecting with the Interfaith Centre for some face-to-face community.

“Camps are a good way to get your feet wet and they’re not overbearing,” says Joey. “It’s good stuff. I would definitely recommend them.”

For school-aged children or teens unsure of what career they might like to pursue, SAIT’s camps provide a space for exploration and discovery, extra emphasis on the fun!

For school-aged children or teens unsure of what career they might like to pursue, SAIT’s camps provide a space for exploration and discovery, extra emphasis on the fun!

Why camps?