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PRJH YAP students put their skills to the test
Chris Clegg
for South Peace News
A dead sparrow in the workplace can mean the different between life and death.
It’s one of the things students in the Youth Apprenticeship Project learned during their skills challenge June 2 at Northern Lakes College in Grouard.
Grade 8-9 students at Prairie River Junior High School were whisked away in teams to different work sites and asked to identify hazards.
Some teams missed the dead bird but were quick to find other blunders such as fire extinguishers not hung up properly, frayed cords, flammable materials by stoves and furnaces, etc.
The challenge included speeches, written test and the challenge.
Coordinator Noela Vandermeulen teaches the program, which just completed its fifth year. She took over halfway through the first year and says it’s a very worthwhile program.
“It’s not just what hazards the students have to identify, but how severe they are and identify the correction,” she says.
YAP begins each September and is a hands-on course. Students do some job shadowing and learn all the tasks needed to thrive in the workplace. Fire safety, WHMIS and the transportation of dangerous goods are some of the courses taught.
Students even had the chance to go to Edmonton and tour NAIT as part of their training.
This may be the final year of YAP, which just completed its five-year pilot program run. Other projects began in Lac la Biche and Wabasca. At press time, it is undecided if the program will operate next year, which would disappoint Vandermeulen.
“I think it’s a great program,” she says. “I know of 5-6 kids in YAP who are (currently) apprenticing.
“It’s good to get them in the trades and keep the kids in school,” she adds.
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Shoddy workmanship, indeed! This violation was so obvious Jacob Pratt, left, laughs while teammate Kyle Olansky records.
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Turn the stove on and … bang! Cody Auger records the blunder in his log. Never place flammable cans near stoves or furnaces!
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Kevin Cramer examines a saw for deficiencies and safety violations. Simple matters like frayed cords can lead to serious injury and possible death.
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Cheyenne Hall and Jessica Stalenhoef examine some booster cables and ropes as part of the exercise. Note the frayed rope to the right of Stalenhoef.
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The Grade 8 team which won the gold medals is shown above. Left-right are Aaron Willier, Spencer Zelman and Kyle Gordon.
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The Grade 9 team which won the gold medals is shown above. Left-right are Evan Griffiths, Destinie Getz and Kelissa Getz.
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The Grade 8 team which won the silver medals is shown above. Left-right are Jamie Smith, Cheyenne Hall and Jessica Stalenhoef.
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The Grade 9 team which won the silver medals is shown above. Left-right are Kyle Olansky, Jacob Pratt and Tyler Zabolotniuk.
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The Grade 8 team which won the bronze medals is shown above. Left-right are Hailey Van Dale, Arianna Quinn and Brogan Severson.
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The Grade 9 team which won the bronze medals is shown above. Left-right are Dakota Popplestone, Kyle Tindall, Darrell Hutchings and Devon Quartly.
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