BGSD celebrates first-ever collegiate grad class

CALMAR -- The Black Gold School Division is celebrating the first-ever grad class of its new collegiate program.

The skilled trades program was launched earlier this year following a major expansion at Calmar Collegiate Secondary School. This came as part of a new 5,000 sq. ft. facility that began construction in the spring of 2024. After facing a number of delays, the new building officially welcomed students as of January.

The goal of the program was to offer local students career training in various skilled trades and a pathway into post-secondary education. For its inaugural year, the program focused mostly on carpentry, which is one of the trades identified by the province as being in particularly high demand across the region. BGSD Superintendent Michael Byorgford says their new trades program had a strong impact for students in its first year of operation.

"I think the collegiate program's been a tremendous success so far. I'm very proud of the work Justin Klaassen, Principal of Calmar Collegiate, and his staff have done to get it off and rolling," said Byorgford. "One of the things we're really proud about is that we have 63 participants in the Grade 10 to 12 program this year, and with our graduating students, a 100 per cent success rate." 

Three students graduated the program this year, all from carpentry, while those numbers are expected to grow when the program returns next school year. Because of their accomplishments, these three students will be two-to-three years ahead of their peers who start training after high school. One student is from Thorsby Jr-Sr High School, while the other two students both came from Breton, outside of the Black Gold School Division.

"It takes time to develop these programs, and with the number of students involved in the lower grades, we see a lot of potential for it to grow in the years to come," said Byorgford. "I know we do want to get into the pipe-fitting at some point as well, but for next year it will be carpentry and electrical."