Exploring the apprenticeship pathway with Grade 7 and Grade 8 students continued to be an areas of focus in the 2022-2023 school year, as students examined skilled trades programming available in secondary school through participation in Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Programs (OYAP) and technology courses. Highlights from the previous school year include the Skills Ontario Trades and Tech Truck visiting our elementary schools, and Gold Collar and OYAP catapult and car workshops for Grade 7 and Grade 8 students to learn more about the apprenticeship pathway.
To increase awareness and promote the skilled trades and apprenticeship pathway to under-represented groups, female students and their families were invited to participate in the Build a Dream Career Expo. This event provided an opportunity for students to listen to a panel discussion with diverse women in the skilled trades, learn how to explore the apprenticeship pathway in secondary school through technology courses and OYAP, meet with local employers and union representatives, and participate in hands-on activities. Female students also had the opportunity to participate in Durham College's Skilled Trades Day for Girls and Centennial College's Durham Trades Day, which had a focus on females in the trades.
Adult and Continuing Education
Registration in the Child Care Assistant Training program doubled thanks to funding from the Region of Durham which covered the student fees. After having been postponed for two years, the Custodial Services Training Program ran successfully with students offered jobs upon completion. The Personal Support Worker Program was offered free of charge to 7 classes of students between Ajax, Oshawa and the new Port Perry location. With the flexibility to take high school credit classes from home or school with teacher support, combined with mature PLAR, the Adult Education centre supported 211 adult students in earning their Ontario Secondary School Diploma.
Alternative Education
Enrolment at our student engagement programs, Centre for Success and Reconnect continued to grow throughout the school year and both programs reached maximum enrolment. Construction was completed over the summer at our new Oshawa Reconnect site and will welcome in new students for the fall of 2023. Exit surveys were collected for students who attended all of our reengagement sites and student satisfaction with the program averaged 8.7 on a scale of 10. The Ministry of Education's expansion of the mature Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition (mPLAR) program supported 48 students across our seven secondary schools with an enhanced pathway to high school graduation.
We invite you to learn more about our strategic goals and actions accomplished in our 2022-2023 Accountability Report.
2022-2023 Accountability Report
