March 14, 2022 • 61 mins
We are joined by Dan Olesen, Senior Program Coordinator with CAREERS (previously CAREERS: the next generation).
Dan has a passion for helping young people enter the trades as a viable career option after High School. We discuss the Registered Apprenticeship Program (RAP), how the stigma of the trades is changing, services offered by CAREERS, and dig into why this is so important.
Find out more about the RAP or CAREERS by visiting: Careers The Next Generation - Careers The Next Generation (careersnextgen.ca)
Connect with us on Instagram or Facebook - @wattsthewordpodcast
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Zack Hartle (00:00):
Hello, and welcome back to another episode of
(00:02):
Watt's the Word and electricalindustry podcast. I'm your host
Zack Hartle joined, as always byJason Cox. Hello, Jason, and
what's on tap for us today?
Jason Cox (00:12):
Hey, Zack. Well, on today's episode, we are going to
be talking with Dan Olson. Danis the Senior Program
Coordinator at careers, formerlyknown as careers the next
generation.
Zack Hartle (00:27):
Absolutely, we're chatting with Dan all about
entering the trades at a youngage through the registered
apprenticeship program, for themost part, and how careers works
with students and with employersto kind of help facilitate that
marriage of student apprenticeand employer. I mean, it's a
little close to home for me, asyou remember, obviously, from a
(00:50):
previous episode, I was actuallya rap student about 12 years
ago. So it's kind of interestingto see how there is an
organization actually workingtowards getting young people
into the trades as a viablecareer option, instead of
pushing them into universitydegrees or into things that they
you know, don't even know whatthey want to do. Right. So with
(01:12):
that, I mean, let's jump rightinto our episode and welcome,
Dan.
Jason Cox (01:16):
Dan, can you tell us about careers?
Dan Olesen (01:20):
You know, careers is a lot of things. First of all,
it's a recognized industrydriven not for profit charity
foundation was started over 25years ago. And, you know, as an
organization, we have threemajor goals. One, go into the
(01:46):
schools, and inspire students,parents and teachers, to the
horizon of career opportunitiesin areas of skill shortages, to
inspire employers to injectyouth into their business into
their industry. Three, createpurposeful collisions between
(02:09):
students and employers forinternships, opportunities, or
experiential learning or workintegrated learning. We're best
known for our work in theskilled trades and our work with
the registered apprenticeshipprogram or rap. But today, you
know, our programming isincluding a lot of other
(02:30):
programs beyond the skilledtrades. So for example, you'll
see us promoting opportunitiesin information and
communication, technology,healthcare, agriculture, and
some other demandingopportunities, Alberta is going
to need to drive those economicengines.
Jason Cox (02:51):
One of the things you brought up there right away was,
I mean, broadcasting out to theprospective young students, and
then their employers who knowsmore about these opportunities?
Typically, is the messagegetting out more to the
employers or to the students?
Dan Olesen (03:13):
You know, that's a good question, actually. Um,
when we're talking about careersin the skilled trades, with
students, we're alsodeconstructing a lot of myths
and stereotypes, right. So we'rereally actively working to
(03:34):
promote the skilled trades atthe same merit value in work.
And that's new message to a lotof students and their supports
employers, they know about theapprenticeship program. But
sometimes they know, they don'tknow that the registered
apprenticeship program is anatural thing. Or they've had a
(03:58):
bad experience. And our job isto kind of make sure that the
process for both the studentsand the employers is easy and
rewarding. And really, you know,we get a lot of satisfaction
when we're actually able toincrease the probability for
(04:18):
both the student and theemployer. Right. So a lot of
people think that careers ownsthe registered apprenticeship
program. Maybe it's because it'smisnamed or mislabeled. Wrap is
actually a course like math 10.
Nobody owns math. Right? So itis a course and it's recognized
(04:43):
by Alberta education, andAlberta advanced education or
the apprenticeship board. Right?
And so it's actually a marriageof these these two bodies. And
it come With a little bit of adifferent set of rules, you
could say than traditionalapprenticeship. So educating
(05:09):
employers to those differentrules is a big challenge or it's
a big need. And then the biggestdifference between the
registered apprenticeshipprogram and traditional
apprenticeship is that studentscan earn 40% of their high
school diploma in the workplace.
Now, that's not crazy. But ifyou compare that to any other
(05:36):
province in Canada, it'sdefinitely an off campus
education program with a littlebit more strength behind. So but
Jason Cox (05:51):
absolutely Sorry to interrupt, but so up to 40% of
your high school credit. Now, itmay have changed a little bit in
the last few years. But Ipersonally, myself, I think of
high school is grade 1011, and12. So if you're getting 40% of
your credit, I mean, that'salmost like a full year of high
school. For these programs forrap, are we starting that in
(06:16):
grade 10?
Dan Olesen (06:18):
Yeah, some are. So really, you know, in my ideal
scenario, and that's changingreally quick, really quick. But
in an ideal scenario, you have astudent who in grade 10, is
learning high school, learningabout all the different options
and opportunities that highschool can give, right? And, and
(06:39):
we come in, and we say, hey,let's look at opportunities and
construction or vehicle andmotor service or cook bakers and
hairstyle. And they go, yeah,that's pretty cool. I want to
try and be an electrician thissummer. And so we take that
student as part of off campuseducation, and they start
(07:01):
exploring and experiencing theconstruction trade with an
employer that's excited aboutinjecting youth into their
business. So then grade 11,comes, right. And so now the
students in the employer have anoption, like, Hey, do do I want
to do all my courses the firstsemester, and work full time,
(07:23):
the second semester, or, like,our friend, Zach here, worked
full time the first semester,and then, and then go to school
full time, the second semester,or maybe I just want to take
advantage of all the coursesthat are available in high
school. And so I'm just going tofocus on high school for my
(07:44):
grade 11 year, and then seewhere I met next summer. So, so
often in Calgary, that's themost common center. Because of
some of the perceptions. One ofthe reasons is because some of
the perceptions around in theskilled trades, right. And, and
(08:05):
of course, you know, if my myson or daughter, if they want to
be in band and, and drama andjust get those experiences, I
totally encourage, then theycome back in grade 11. And they
go, You know what, I think givenmore responsibility, I'm
actually seeing this treatment atotally different way than I did
a year. So then again, to get totheir grade 12 year, you know,
(08:30):
by this time, they've earnedprobably 10 credits in the
registered apprenticeshipprogram, if they just did
something. And now they can havethe same options, again, work
full time, or maybe they'll workin the mornings and go to school
in the afternoon. If, if theproject in the employer can make
a schedule that fit, right. Sothey go to work in the mornings,
(08:54):
often in the construction sectorbecause of the toolbox seeking
meetings. Right? They get 10credits, the first semester of
grade 1210 credits again in thesecond semester of grade 12. Now
we're at 40 credits, thegraduate grade 12, with 40
credits in the registeredapprenticeship program. That's
(09:14):
how it works.
Zack Hartle (09:16):
So that's very cool, Dan. And as you mentioned,
there I was actually in theregistered apprenticeship
program 15 years ago now ish,but I do not remember how I got
into it. A friend situation doesdoing it kinda. But if now if
you're a student and you want toget into the program, you want
(09:37):
to try out a trade or I don'tknow if there's an option to
maybe try a couple differenttrades to see what you like, how
would a student go about gettinginto the program?
Dan Olesen (09:45):
So often cases, wrap is actually often students don't
go into rap right away. Theyactually start in a career
internship or work experience.
And that's where students canGet another five to 20 credits.
Okay, hold on a second, you'reprobably thinking about the math
here. But let's say we placedthem in, in one of our favorite
(10:09):
companies, and they don't signup to be an apprentice that
summer. So they got 10 creditsand work experience. And that
was their, their extraexploration grounds, right? If
you combine work experience,taking credits and work
experience and wrap credits, younow have 55 credits towards your
(10:29):
high school diploma. Okay, now Iheard what your question was
Zack. So I'm getting to it, Ipromise. Before we can get the
students enrolled in workexperience in rap. One of the
things that I love about thisprogram is a prerequisite safety
courses. And so these studentshave to do prerequisite
(10:51):
workplace safety courses beforethey can even go out and work
experience. And this is a ruleby Alberta education, it doesn't
matter what school division yougo to. So to get enrolled, the
very first thing that you haveto do is connect with your off
campus teacher at your highschool. Now, most high schools
(11:12):
have somebody appointed. But ifthey don't, then we can talk to
their district and find out whoin their district is responsible
for our campus education. And ifnobody's in their district is
then we start figuring out otheropportunities in collaboration
with our school divisions,that's more complicated. In
(11:35):
short, they go up to a counseloror an off campus teacher and
say, I want to do workexperience, I want to do rap.
And then the teacher will say,Do you have a job? Yeah, my
buddy's uncle has an opportunityfor me, great. You know what,
no, I don't know anybody in theelectrical trade. Great, I'm
(11:56):
going to introduce you tocareers right away. And you're
going to fill out anapplication, I'm going to tell
him, you've approved you for offcampus education, meaning you
have a good citizenship, meaningyou have a good, you know, good
references from the school,you're working to complete your
(12:17):
safety courses. And while we'redoing that, careers is gonna go
and see if they can find anemployer. That makes sense.
Zack Hartle (12:26):
Typically, do you guys have luck with that? Do you
have employers often willing tostep up and take the students?
Or is there a little bit more ofa juggling act?
Dan Olesen (12:35):
There's always a little bit of a juggling act,
right? Because he has to be aproject that you can can use
some extra talent, right foremerging talent, and that it has
to be, you know, some sort ofgeographical makes sense, right?
Because the students in Calgarycan't really work outside of the
(12:57):
city limits. Right. So there's alittle bit of a juggling act.
But I think that's one of theadvantages that careers brings
to the table for bothstakeholders, and players in
schools, is that we're creatingthat fit, we're aligning those
objectives, or those those needsare those expectations, so that
(13:22):
the whole process for thestudent and the employer look
seemingly ease that answer yourquestions that?
Zack Hartle (13:30):
Yes, definitely. I remember nothing of the process.
I just remember, my friend wasdoing it said go talk to the
counselor. I went, I said, Hey,did some stuff I don't know, so
long ago. And then I guess I waslucky, right? When I came in,
there was an economic boom,right? So there was people
looking for green first yearapprentices and I was very
(13:50):
green, I can tell you that. So
Dan Olesen (13:53):
you also have to kind of aligned sometimes a
little bit of personality.
Right? You know, when I youngwoman applies to be in the
trades, you know, there's lotsof employers that are forward
thinking and Equal Opportunityemployers, but sometimes, it
just makes sense to place afemale student who's just
(14:14):
exploring the opportunities, andis a little bit more nervous
with a female dream person.
Right? Because then thatmentorship can really bond with
relatable experience. Right? Sosometimes you can take that idea
and you can think aboutethnicity. Right? You can think
about some students are really,really more timid. And they need
(14:39):
that employer that has thatability to break through that
shell a little bit. And thenthere are students who are, you
know, a little bit toocourageous, and you got to put
them with more safety consciousemployer with more strict
programs so that they can kindof bridle that. That enthusiasm
Jason Cox (15:02):
I've got a question here, it seems that the career
counselors in the schools are acritical part to this whole
marriage of careers. And our whois the one that's speaking to
these counselors to ensure thatthey are aware of the other
options other than just postsecondary education? Being a
(15:25):
university degree?
Dan Olesen (15:30):
Yeah, everything that careers does is in
collaboration with our schoolswithout our schools supporting
the program. Wrap doesn't exist.
Okay. But I hear what you'resaying. I think that the
responsibility rests on thecommunity. And every
(15:50):
stakeholders from, from ourpartners and our friends at
sait, to our, our friends at theapprenticeship board, to the
employers that have their theirstudents going to that school, I
can tell you a few stories,right. So that it has to come
from multiple channels. Butcareers is definitely I take it
(16:17):
as a responsibility. I don'tknow if it's a careers, you
know, mission statement. Butit's it's definitely upon my
responsibility that I've had theprivilege of meeting some of the
most influential industryleaders this province has to
offer. And every opportunity Ihave to add caliber to the
discussion of what the tradesare. I do it. Sometimes it takes
(16:43):
10 years, I've had scienceteachers come up to me. After
nine years of presenting to27,000 students, he came up to
me he says, you know, again,sort, I didn't even know who the
guy was. I said, What are yousorry, about, he says, you can
(17:05):
come in here every year. Andthis is the first time I've ever
seen your presentation. I didn'tsee the relevancy of my science
class, seeing your presentation.
And I get it now. Right? So it'sa little bit more. You got to be
(17:26):
consistent. And you got to beemploying your principles and
your critical thinking and yourwillingness to listen, and your
willingness to prove yourselfwrong.
Jason Cox (17:35):
That I've known you for probably close to 10 years
now. So So you've been you'vebeen working with careers for
quite some time. Are you seeingthat that that epiphany or that
change where you're talking toschools now versus when you
first started out?
Dan Olesen (17:51):
Um, yeah, right, I see a lot more programming and a
lot more discussions and a lotmore opportunities surrounding
the skilled trades and thedevelopment of skilled trades. I
don't always agree with some ofthe strategies that are around
these initiatives. But I do seea higher frequency of
(18:16):
communication.
Zack Hartle (18:18):
And with that higher communication are, you
know, over the last 10 years,are we seeing a higher turnover
from students getting into thetrades? Like more students per
year? Are you trending upwards?
I guess, would be my question.
Dan Olesen (18:31):
Yeah, absolutely.
Definitely. Placing morestudents, we're definitely on an
upward trajectory before COVID.
Right. And in careers incollaboration with our other
programming. We have an intendedtarget of about 6000 interns
(18:52):
across Alberta, by 2023. Andright now, well, before COVID,
we were replacing about 1500. Sowe placed 1600. Last year, and I
think this year, we're lookingat 2500.
Zack Hartle (19:07):
And that was going to be my next question about how
COVID has maybe made it moredifficult for you guys, or, as
we've heard from a lot of otherguests to maybe given you guys
opportunities to do things alittle bit differently.
Dan Olesen (19:18):
Yeah, COVID is, you know, complex, has has had a
complex, you know, effect on thesocial phenomenon surrounding
the skilled trades. Right. And Iwish I was smarter to talk about
it, but the the economicchallenges facing a lot of
(19:39):
companies and COVID andeverything else we saw, we saw a
large exodus of foreign talentor outside talent in Alberta
lead again. And so that'screated a lot of opportunities
for for, or has created a strongneed to grow some local talent
(20:00):
Right. So, on one hand, that'sgood. I think one of the biggest
challenges is the microconversations, right? Where, you
know, we get on these zoomcalls, and one of the things
that we want to do is get offthese zoom calls. And so when
(20:23):
you have a construction teacheror a CTS teacher that's trying
to connect with Allison orMohammed or Johnny, who are in
the CTS classes, because theylike to, you know, take what's
going on here and putting itinto here. Well, for them to sit
on a zoom call, they're goingBatty, right? So, you know, that
(20:47):
CTS teacher doesn't really havethe opportunity to have that
micro conversation and say, Hey,Muhammad, you know, I've been
seeing how you've been solvingthis complex problem in your, in
your carpentry class. And youmight have the foundation of
skills to attrition. But they'renot having that conversation,
(21:08):
because you can't do that onZoom. Very easily. Right? You
don't see Allison running downthe halls and, and watching the
electrician run wires throughthe ceiling. And her going, what
are you doing? Right? And theteacher saying, Hey, you're
really interested in that. Let'stalk about that. So those micro
(21:32):
conversations are hurting. Andthen of course, all the
restrictions and, andperceptions of COVID. And those
fears and those risks. They'veall created all these little
micro barriers that we have tosolve. I could go on, but I'm
still like I'm battling.
Zack Hartle (21:51):
That's good. That's answered my questions. That's
perfect.
Jason Cox (21:55):
He could be in store for a huge tidal wave of post
COVID items, right? We just wedon't even know what they are.
Because like you said, there hasbeen an exodus from the
province. And there's beenpeople that have been put aside
and paused and I mean, thrownlike, tilt left field. So we
(22:16):
don't know what's what's goingto happen moving forward here.
So this kind of bridges into mynext question. So I asked you a
moment ago, about studentsentering the trades as young as
grade 10. Yeah. What's thewhat's the age limit? So I've
graduated high school, am Istill eligible for any of these
programs?
Dan Olesen (22:36):
You've graduated high school, you're still
eligible to be an apprentice,right? Yeah. If someone's crazy
enough to hire you, they careersis really focused, has really
been focused on on high schoolstudents up north, we have a Co
Op program. What we're seeingnow with careers is we're right
(22:58):
now trying to develop messagingor strategies around you, 21, or
persons under the age of 21. Andit looks like it's going to be a
good idea. Because, you know,COVID, has had an impact on high
school education for two yearsnow, and probably is going to
(23:20):
continue to have an impact forat least a little while. Right.
So there's a lot of people whoare leaving high school on this
trajectory that they thoughtthey were going to be on that
didn't get access to thedifferent ideas or different
options that were available. Andthey're going to be saying,
they're going to still have thesame questions for the same
challenges. So we're going tohave to support that group under
(23:46):
the age of 21. So to accesscareers programming right now,
Jason, you have to be 21 yearsless a day. And that's for the
skilled trades. The otherprogramming like agriculture and
(24:06):
ICT, you have to be in highschool.
Zack Hartle (24:09):
So Daniel mentioned that you're here in Calgary, I
assume Calgary is kind of yourarea and I know you look after
electrical but in your portfolioin this position, do you look
after other trades or otherareas as well?
Dan Olesen (24:21):
Absolutely. All 49 Plus trades are eligible. Now
there's certain trades that arereally harder to place like we
don't please a lot of highschool students as crane hoist
operators. But we do figure outways to connect them to the
industry in other ways. Barbers,hairstyles, cooks, bakers,
(24:46):
appliance service technician,welders. We're working with all
of them. And we're really, we'vebeen doing that since 1997 1992.
And you We're also taking thebest parts of apprenticeship and
trying to apply it to the othersectors. You know, and this is
(25:09):
kind of related to maybe some ofthe things that we're going to
see with the development of Bill67. I don't know, it's kind of
above my pay bracket. But, youknow, imagine we could get every
single high school student, orrecent high school student
exploring and experiencing theircareers before post secondary,
(25:34):
so that they could choose thebest path and their commitment
to lifelong learning with a fitfor purpose. And so when we look
at careers, like in technology,like software developments,
right, there's some aspects inthose careers where you need
that university degree. Butsometimes, all you really need
(25:57):
to know is maybe the foundationof skills for Python, to get
that job and start contributingto the economic engine.
Zack Hartle (26:09):
Well, that's that's how I answer the question. Every
time someone asked me like, Oh,what do I need to be a good
apprentice electrician, well,show up on time and listen and
work hard, like you don't needfor a lot of jobs, especially in
the skilled trades, you don'tneed a lot of knowledge about
what you're doing. You just needto show up and listen to the
people who know what they'redoing. Right. Like that applies
(26:30):
across all those careers thatyou guys put forward.
Dan Olesen (26:35):
Yeah, you know, then sometimes there's a foundation
of skills that are required,right, depending on the
opportunity, like, it's reallyhard to place an electrician
when they don't even know what aPhillips screwdriver is, right?
It's kind of hard. We've doneit, right. But it's hard. But
(26:57):
yeah, so, you know, I've beensaying, For 10 years more,
there's only four things youneed. Teamwork, willingness to
put the interest of others aheadof your own positive attitude.
I'm not saying you have to cometo work every day with a big
smile on your face, but you haveto be willing to do the tasks
and responsibilities assigned toyou to the best of your
(27:18):
abilities, strong work ethic,which is just accountability, to
do the job to the best of yourabilities, and most importantly,
a willingness to learn. And ifyou come to every opportunity,
and it for a guy like me whobarely graduated high school, I
gotta tell you, that's whatsaved my butt more than a few
times. Just that unbridledwillingness to learn. So, it's
(27:46):
really important that, thatevery new apprentice brings that
to to the table. But it's funny,because employers often tell
asked me, you know, what do theyneed to provide students for
them to be successful? Samething. Right, it's just like,
(28:13):
you gotta you got to treat them,like you're willing to put their
interests sometimes ahead ofyour own, you know, you have to,
you have to listen to them and,and assign them tasks and
responsibilities that areencouraging to them. Right? And
if you suck at mentorship, thenyou have to be willing to learn
(28:34):
how to be a mentor. Right? Andit's not the students fault.
Right? And that's kind of kindof where I can go off on another
rant on that. But it's not aboutmoney. It really isn't. Right. A
lot of employers say, Oh, Idon't know, we have the money
(28:54):
for this. Well, if you actuallyknow how to assign tasks
effectively and efficiently, youcan make money on anybody.
Really, you're just not runningyour businesses smoothly. And
maybe that's really easy to say,as the guy who's not running a
business. But, you know, I havebeen an entrepreneur and I've
(29:20):
hired lots of different kinds ofpeople. Well, I
Jason Cox (29:23):
really liked what you mentioned earlier, you talked
about learning, and learningdoesn't necessarily have to
happen in the classroom. Right?
So with your vision, or youryour thought about being able to
go and go out and experienceyour prospective career before
you actually make thatcommitment to all the formalized
education. But I mean, thatcould be an incredible learning
(29:46):
activity. Right, right off thebat, and I mean, everybody now
learns outside of the classroom.
But when you talk to people whoare Older there, oh, I, I didn't
like school. I didn't like that.
And then the next day you talkto them about fixing an
appliance in their house. Andthey're like, Oh, how did you do
(30:09):
that? Oh, I just watched aYouTube video. Right? I read
this book, or my neighbor showedme, right? So you're continuing
to learn, but you're learningfrom your friends, your
neighbors, your peers, or maybefrom a video shot online. Right.
But yeah, I, I'm exactly on thesame, same train of thought, as
(30:31):
you. Like, if I could go out andactually just participate in the
career I thought I'd like tohave before I invested all that
time. What a great idea.
Dan Olesen (30:47):
You know, and it just doesn't have to be about
the position. Like I worked witha bunch of students on a weekly
basis last year. And, and Iasked him, What's the one thing
you would want me to changeabout the program? And they
said, Dan, put less focus on theposition, and more on the
(31:08):
mission of the company. What?
And they're like, you know, weget shoveled these opportunities
all the time, but you're alwaystelling us you can teach us the
skill. Okay, so tell us moreabout why the company exists.
What is it that they want toachieve? And how am I going to
(31:30):
be a part of that success? I'lllearn the skills, but I want you
to inspire me first. I was justlike, you're in grade 11. And
you're telling me this? Okay.
Right. A tall order, Dan. Iknow, right? But you know, so I
(31:50):
remember years ago, this kidcame up to me and he said, Dan,
I really want to be afirefighter. And I said, okay,
but ain't good for you. I can'thelp you. I don't police
firefighters. He's like, No, youdon't understand. I want to
learn the construction industry,because that'll make me a better
firefighter. And I said forgrade 10. Logic, buddy, that's
(32:12):
brilliant. Let's go with that.
And so we put them out in theconstruction industry, is that a
ladder interior systemsmechanic. Okay. Nobody knows
what that trade is, by the way,that's fun. And, and he goes
into it. And guess what, heloved it. And so, you know, fast
forward three years is the guy.
(32:36):
You know, fast forward fiveyears is the guy a firefighter
is the guy a ladder interiorsystems mechanic, know, he's
going into safe to takeConstruction Project Management.
Right? He fell in love with anindustry. This isn't just about
growing skilled trades people.
This is about crawling futureleaders, people who can step
(33:01):
into being an instructor, beingan entrepreneur, being a project
manager, being a civil engineer,and actually respecting the
industry, and every piece ofthat puzzle. Arias gives me all
excited, but I have a sayingthat I still I go into a shop
(33:24):
who was an auto body mechanic.
And, and I said, I can'tremember the remark that I said,
and I and I said, Yeah, youknow, every kid has to start at
the bottom. And he said, Well,we'll we'll Don't ever say that
in my shop. I said, Okay, Ithought I seriously offended the
(33:47):
guy. He says nobody that startsworking here starts the bottom.
Everybody started to begin. And,and, you know, like, what a
change in in the language.
Right. And so now, you know, asBill Black from the president or
(34:09):
the president of the CCA wouldsay, you know, an opportunity in
the construction sector is oneof the few industries where you
can go from broom to Boardroom.
Right. Maybe it's a little bitabout the respect and the honor
and the privilege of holding abroom. And everything that comes
(34:34):
with that. It's not aboutpushing the broom it is but it's
also the opportunity to lookaround, see what's happening and
go Yeah, I'm working for thiselectrical company, but that
plumber over there. Learn whatthat guy is doing. Right. If I
could go back I'd be a plumber.
No offense electricians, but I'dbe a plumber.
Jason Cox (35:00):
It seems that a lot of times on job sites, it's it's
like the plumbers and theelectricians are the ones that
like we really have tocoordinate together. So we kind
of, it's like we're brothers,like, I know fighting big
brother, little brother orfighting twins or whatever. But,
I mean, usually we get along onthe job sites.
Dan Olesen (35:22):
But you know, I think that's what a lot of, you
know, and you hear it fromcompanies all the time, like,
man, if this engineer had workedat day, he wouldn't be designed
in this crazy. Honest, it'slike, well, why aren't why
aren't they working throughtoday? Yeah.
Jason Cox (35:41):
Yeah. And I mean, that's the thing is, it's when
you're an engineer, it's such avast profession, right? Even I
mean, even if you're just anelectrical engineer, so I, I am
very inquisitive. And I askedlots of questions. So I had an
engineer on my site once and Ithink you're an engineer, I go
European. She goes, Yeah, I go,Great. Can you explain to me how
(36:01):
this works, and he's like, andhe was like, he's like, my
things, lighting or my thingsfire alarm, he goes, I have no
idea how the electronics andthat works. But it's the vast
world. And is
Zack Hartle (36:16):
Sudan coming at this from an employer's side of
things a little bit more, we'vebeen talking about the
opportunities for the students alot. I'm an employer, what's the
advantage to me of coming infinding somebody in the
registered apprenticeshipprogram versus putting an ad on
Facebook or LinkedIn or whateverand getting? Who knows who
Dan Olesen (36:38):
I'm, I'm not gonna say you can't find great talent
by putting an ad out. But let'sjust say you had two people have
equal intelligence, equalpotential. And one was doing was
applying for the job because thecompany inspired them to do it.
(37:02):
And, and they saw it as a coolopportunity, and really wanted
to do it. And the other personwas doing it because
you needed a job. And there was$1 figure attached to it. Who do
you think it's going to bringmore in the long term?
(37:27):
Right, if you can actually say,Wow, you really, genuinely just
want to be here. What? Because Iwant the experience I want to
learn, you can pay me minimumwage, I don't care. Okay, so I
have to talk about safety. Andthen a lot of people, a lot of
organizations have come to meand said, Dan, we only hire
(37:49):
people over the age of 18. And Igo, Okay, why? Well, because
they're more safe. Kate, whatmagic trigger happens? Oh, well,
they're more mature. Really.
Right. You have 400 studentsthat are getting
recommendations, taking safetycourses, filling out
(38:11):
applications, doing resumes,doing screening, just to get an
internship over the guy who'splaying on Kijiji ad for 18
bucks an hour. So what'sinteresting is that if safety
was the real big issue, and youhad a choice of hiring a guy, or
girl that worked at the movietheater, no, nothing movie
(38:37):
theaters a bad job. But youknow, it's a little bit less
structured, there's a little bitmore horseplay allowed, right?
Or you hire that 16 year oldthat had to learn safety
protocols every day, everymorning. From the very first job
that they have, what habits youwant to buy first?
Jason Cox (39:07):
It's the habits.
Yeah, you're 100%. Right. In oneof our previous podcasts, one of
the guests talked about gettingpeople that were green, so they
could start to build them intothe employee that they wanted.
And you're right here too. If ifsomebody comes into the industry
right away, and they begin theirday, every day with that safety
(39:30):
protocol, than to them that'sjust not that's just normal.
Right. So that that could beinvaluable.
Dan Olesen (39:38):
Yeah, average age of a first year apprentice in
Alberta. How old is it? Youknow?
Jason Cox (39:43):
I'm going to take in I've got a number of my head
Zack, what do you got a number?
Zack Hartle (39:48):
I got a number.
Yeah, I would say 26
Jason Cox (39:51):
I guess 23
Dan Olesen (39:55):
I think I told Zack this before good. She's like
dead on it Hmm, first year breadisn't Alberta, last time I
checked, most are going in whenthey're 19. But the average age
26. Now, now, when we thinkabout this, you know, I'm not an
expert in adult education theoryor in biological sciences. But
(40:18):
if we actually look at theability to learn versus the
effort toward or compared to theeffort to learn, once we hit 25,
the quarter life crisis, right?
The the effort to learn startsto being an impeding factor,
like a real imputing. Factor.
(40:41):
And so, so, even if they'rehiring most of the apprentices
at 19, and that's their firstjob, you're spending more time
and more money because a 19 yearold is going to request demand
more money than a 16 year old,right, just in terms of wages.
(41:04):
So you're spending more moneyand more time to indoctrinates
or socialize basic employabilityskills. Right, because I've
never had a job. So you're,you're actually going through
that culture shock at 19. versusspending less money. And having
(41:27):
this arsenal of coaches like anoff campus teacher, parents
careers, all these peopleworking together to teach these
employability skills. So byhiring younger, you're actually
going to expedite talent andinnovation to production. But
employers don't see it that way.
Because they say, well, it'sgonna take three years for that
(41:49):
kid to be 19. Yet, but at 19, mykid's gonna be worth 20 was a 23
year old and he still has from19 to 20. Before he's 23,
Jason Cox (42:05):
you could look at it from the perspective of a hockey
player. Right? That's good. He'sgot all the skill, but yeah, we
can, obviously, yeah, but we canput them into that contract for
four extra years. Right. So.
Dan Olesen (42:18):
But it does make a lot of economic sense, right? To
grow your game, if we actuallysat down and thought about how
much adult education costs, andwe realized that this was a
multi billion dollar industry,why? Right, it's hard. It's
(42:41):
really a hard thing to do.
Engineering, and inspiring youthto be everything that they are
and everything that they shouldbe. Well, that's easy,
relatively. And it's fun. So nowyou can have your third year,
apprentice, learning leadership,learning mentorship, learning
(43:04):
culture of the business, byteaching high school students.
Right, you can actually infuseit in through your entire
industry, or your entirecompany. And here's the best
part, here's what's really good.
Does anybody know what theaverage costs of getting local
(43:26):
talent from, from, hey, a jobexists to shovel on the ground?
No idea. Know. So you know,numbers are all over the place,
but it's anywhere from you know,$1,500 to 7000, on average. So
(43:51):
that means the company has toput out marketing, they have to,
they have to pick if they wantto do it on Indeed, GG,
whatever, they have to siftthrough all the applications,
all the resumes, right, thenthey have to host the interview,
schedule, the interviews, thendo all the other stuff that
comes up. And there'sorganizations like careers that
(44:16):
are supported by industrysupported by government that's
doing all that work for free. Soyou take that every time you
hire a student, you're gonna geta higher probability of getting
our emerging best. without allthe extra stuff that doesn't
(44:40):
really add value to yourbusiness.
Zack Hartle (44:43):
Did these employers need to commit to a length of
time to employ the apprentice?
Like do they have to commit tothe seven months for summer and
semester or anything like that?
Dan Olesen (44:55):
No, I think there's an ethical obligation, right
like Taking a kid for two daysand then cutting them loose,
back might just be a jerk moveto do, right? Unless it's like
safety related. Like in all newhires, right, if they're a
threat to themselves or a threatto the organization, of course,
(45:17):
you can let them go after anhour, five minutes, I don't
care. But if you're going totake on a student, then I'm
going to encourage it, theemployer and the student had
this unbridled willingness tolearn, right, so that means
they're working the project forat least 75 to 125 hours, that
(45:37):
gives a student five creditstowards your high school
diploma, good three weeks tolearn the culture, maybe learn
some do's and don'ts, and reallysee if you can, you know,
expedite a potential fordevelopment. That's pretty much
what I asked.
Zack Hartle (45:57):
Is there hotspots in the province? Like, do you
see a lot more rap students inCalgary versus Edmonton or
anything like that?
Dan Olesen (46:05):
Um, you know, I think culture has a lot of
things to do with it. I thinkthat, you know, work integrated
learning and being able to marrythe workplace with schooling is
is a really good idea. But inCalgary, I would say that
there's opportunities, but theidea of a student working half
(46:30):
days, and going to school halfdays, in the construction
sector, is less frequent. Butdefinitely more common in
Edmonds, or red deer or some ofour rural districts. Right. So
why is that?
Zack Hartle (46:50):
Great question.
Dan Olesen (46:52):
You know, and we can we, we can see that it's, you
know, culture of the family andphilosophies there that, you
know, my kid has to focus onschool and schools. That's it.
We can say that there's an Idon't know if this is true or
(47:13):
not, I have no idea. But, youknow, is there a more of a push
for Tavi students to go touniversity than there is seen
Edmonton or some of the ruralcommunities? You know, those
would all be interestingquestions? Or are students just
more entitled? And it's like,Man, I don't mind working in
summer, but you want me to workout in the cold? Forget, you
(47:36):
don't want to do that. Maybethat's what it is. Right? And
then, of course, it can go downto the schools. Right. The
schools are definitelyforwarding and education agenda
and how they're funded. Right? Idon't, I'm wondering if this is
gonna get me fired, actually, bytelling you this? I don't know.
(47:59):
Maybe I should think aboutpolitics. Right. But the schools
have to be able to offer thecurriculum, right. And, and the
community has to be willing tosupport it. At the end of the
day, it's not a governmentproblem. It's not a schooling
problem. It's not a stateproblem. It's an industry
(48:22):
problem. Industry has to bewilling to play a part in the
education process. And, and whenthey do, everything happens
faster. And it hasn't betterthan relying on somebody else,
to come up with the solutionthat they need. If they see the
(48:44):
solution, they should beparticipating in it, not relying
on somebody else to come up withit for
Jason Cox (48:51):
what would be the best way for interested parties
to kind of get in contact withcareers about potential
opportunities.
Dan Olesen (49:03):
The best way to get in contact with careers is pick
up your phone and call, callyour local program coordinator
connect with them on LinkedIn.
clinic careers website isprobably the easiest thing to do
and send them an email. The onething that careers has is this
energy and passion to helpeverybody. There's nobody that's
(49:32):
working in careers that iswaiting for an opportunity.
We're all trying to look at theglass half empty. And that
doesn't mean that we'repessimists. It just, we
recognize what we have. Andwe're all looking for the
(49:52):
opportunities to Comorian.
Zack Hartle (49:56):
And you know, Dan, I think that you are a prime
example. have that and yourunbridled enthusiasm for what
you do? How did you get like,how did you end up in this
position? Because I don't thinkyou have a trade, if that's
correct. How'd you get here?
Being a spokesperson for thetrades and other careers, I
guess,
Dan Olesen (50:17):
I went to a wedding and I was sitting at a table.
And some person made a smartremark about being a plumber.
And I was a little bit under theinfluence. And so I went off on
one of my passionate rants asI'm known for. And this person
(50:41):
said, That was brilliant. Here'smy card. And I looked at the
card, and I showed it to mywife. And she's like, Yeah, I
know who that is. And I said,Who's that? Well, he's, he's the
vice president of StakeholderRelations for careers and, and
in Canada supports careers. AndI said, Oh, she's like, you
(51:01):
should look into it. And sobecause she was encouraging me,
because her the relationship inCanada had and now Synovus has
with careers. I kind of thinkthat company for, for having the
(51:24):
seeds in place for me to do whatit is that I
Jason Cox (51:26):
do. That's very cool.
Yeah. Yeah.
Dan Olesen (51:30):
So without, without those connections, and wanting
to be a plumber, I don't thinkI'd be where I am.
Jason Cox (51:41):
Yeah, you're very passionate to different I've
never seen anyone defend aplumber that wasn't a plumber.
So that's, that's, that's reallygood for you.
Dan Olesen (51:52):
Not that I don't love electricians. Right. I've
learned a lot from hanging outwith electricians, and our
mutual friends. And, you know, Igotta say, it's just like some
of the some of the trades peoplethat I've met as a result of
this, this connection that I'vebeen able to make with industry
(52:14):
leaders. That's where thepassion comes from. Right? You
meet all these great people, allthese smart people, some of them
are rough around the edges. Someof them are absolute nerds,
right. But you take a piece ofwhat they know what they've
(52:34):
experienced, and what they wouldwant to share if they can get on
the same soap boxes that I wasgetting on. And so I just take a
piece from everybody stitch themall together, and hopefully come
up with some sort of messagethat can resonate with the
listeners. So it has nothingreally, I'm glad that you guys
(52:55):
think I'm passionate. And thenthat's what I really want to
convey. But really what I'mdoing is I'm just feeling the
passion from everybody else. Andhopefully, I'm being a
respectable vehicle for whatthey would want to see if they
were standing in the same placeas I was,
Zack Hartle (53:13):
and willing to speak as loudly as you speak
about it.
Dan Olesen (53:17):
Yes, that's true.
Now, how
Jason Cox (53:19):
long have you been with careers now?
Dan Olesen (53:21):
I'm in my 11th.
Year. So I want to say yeah,presented to over 27,000
students. I don't know how manyemployers are. I've on boarded
more than 400 new employers tothe program. For sure. I've
(53:42):
helped connect, probably about1000 students to career up to
employers who were excited toinject youth into their
business. And hopefully, I'vecrowd the cages, if you will,
(54:07):
of, you know, a few 1000 parentsand teachers and people who had
a misunderstanding of what itmeans to be an Albertan.
Jason Cox (54:26):
Well, I'm on your website right now. So it's www
dot careers next gen.ca. Is thatcorrect? Yeah. And the phone
number is 1-888-757-7172. Ibelieve that's the number so
toll free anywhere in theprovince if people want more
(54:46):
information on careers.
Zack Hartle (54:49):
All right. Right before we sign off, Dan, what's
your one last piece of advicefor a student? And what's your
one last piece of advice for anemployer
Dan Olesen (54:57):
my last piece of advice for a student and I've
said This is probably everysingle presentation I've ever
done. The next time somebodyasks you, what are you going to
do with the rest of your life?
You look them straight in theeye. And you say, I have no
idea. And I'm going to starthere, I'm gonna start by doing
this right or wrong pass orfail, I'm gonna be better as a
(55:22):
result of the experience. Forthe employers, it's simple. You
know, let's, let's build yourbusiness, let's build your
industry. And let's figure out away to, to connect you with our
emerging best. If that's highschool, if that's a different
(55:46):
group, great. But let's worktogether to to better prepare
Alberta for the road ahead. Andfor the employers, you know that
quickly, right now in 2022, isFebruary 17. If they were to
contact careers right now andsay, hey, I want to hire a high
(56:11):
school students for the summer,they might be eligible to get
about $10,800. To hire thatstudent. Now, I want to be
clear. And curious isn't tellingme to say this, this isn't about
hiring cheap labor. This isabout taking advantage of
(56:35):
government funding, to build thespin within your business, to to
engage youth in your communityeffectively and efficiently, and
start building the mentorshipstandards within your business.
If you just see the talent as $8An hour talent, you're not going
(56:58):
to be in a better place twoyears from now. That's my
position. And, and that's,that's the Alberta. That's the
future, I think is worth workingfor. Well,
Zack Hartle (57:15):
thank you very much, Dan, for chatting with us
today.
Dan Olesen (57:20):
Thanks for having me, guys. It's always a pleasure
to hang out with the two guysthat I look up to in the world.
Jason Cox (57:26):
Thanks a lot. That was a great conversation with
Dan, I learned a little bit moreabout entry into the trades
stuff that you would haveexperienced Zack. And I think in
that interview, you actuallysaid that there was parts to
that entry in your journey thatthat you kind of forgotten about
(57:48):
or, or were in a little fuzzy.
So it was really good for Dan,to remind us on some of the some
of the benefits of the ratprogram and some of the services
available by careers. Kind ofreflecting on that episode.
Zach, was there anything any bigtakeaway that you got out of it?
Zack Hartle (58:08):
I think what stands out to me, and I mean, this has
been a something we've talkedabout for is like, there's still
that stigma about entering thetrades, there's still an need
for people. I mean, we've got alittle bit of a labor shortage
starting in right now. Andapparently, it's going to be
getting worse. I mean, again,yeah, the hard part is just
(58:28):
getting that message across towhether it be schools or whether
it be students or whether it beparents, I'm not sure who that
message needs to get to, butjust that trades of of any type
are a viable option, right, sothat we can get more young
people into the trade, whetherit's going to be something they
do for their whole life, orwhether it's a stepping stone to
move on to something else. Imean, one of the quotes that
(58:53):
came up today is right, youknow, trades is one of the only
places you go from room toBoardroom. Right. And I that
that kind of resonated quite abit with me because it it is a
stepping stone, it can be a pathto so many other things. Or it
can be a solid, good 40 yearcareer. Right. There's kind of
choose your own adventure almostwith apprenticeship and trades.
Jason Cox (59:14):
Yeah, and I think we could do an entire episode on
the stigma of the trades. It'ssomething that's bothered me for
a long time as being guilty ofbeing on both sides of that I've
probably talked about that inthe past. But I think my neatest
takeaway for me on this was, Iam a parent of two young adults,
(59:36):
and I had no idea the amount ofhigh school credits that were
available. So I think Dan saidin excess of 40, up to a maximum
of 55 credits was was I thinkwhat he explained which are
Zack Hartle (59:52):
like the half right, that'd be just over half
of your high school. Right.
Jason Cox (59:56):
Exactly. Right. So I mean, that was it. That was a
The big takeaway for me, but thething that really impressed me
was the the mandatory safetytraining for the rap students.
Prior to getting the workexperience. I think you're
(01:00:18):
setting an example right off thebat where you have the safety in
place. The expectations are madebefore the students go on to the
job site. So they're at leastaware of some of the possible
dangers and hazards. I was veryimpressed by that.
Zack Hartle (01:00:36):
And I agree with that completely. So I mean, I
think the message here at theend of this episode is if you
are a parent of someone if youare an employer looking for
apprentices, or if you knowsomebody who's of high school
age and you think trades mightbe right for them, I think
careers is a great resource toreach out to hit up their
website, which we will link inthe description below. As
(01:00:59):
always, if you enjoyed thisshow, make sure you leave a
review on Apple or Spotify.
Check us out on Facebook orInstagram @wattsthewordpodcast
and for now, have a great dayand thank you so much for
listening
Hello, and welcome back to another episode of
(00:02):
Watt's the Word and electricalindustry podcast. I'm your host
Zack Hartle joined, as always byJason Cox. Hello, Jason, and
what's on tap for us today?
Jason Cox (00:12):
Hey, Zack. Well, on today's episode, we are going to
be talking with Dan Olson. Danis the Senior Program
Coordinator at careers, formerlyknown as careers the next
generation.
Zack Hartle (00:27):
Absolutely, we're chatting with Dan all about
entering the trades at a youngage through the registered
apprenticeship program, for themost part, and how careers works
with students and with employersto kind of help facilitate that
marriage of student apprenticeand employer. I mean, it's a
little close to home for me, asyou remember, obviously, from a
(00:50):
previous episode, I was actuallya rap student about 12 years
ago. So it's kind of interestingto see how there is an
organization actually workingtowards getting young people
into the trades as a viablecareer option, instead of
pushing them into universitydegrees or into things that they
you know, don't even know whatthey want to do. Right. So with
(01:12):
that, I mean, let's jump rightinto our episode and welcome,
Dan.
Jason Cox (01:16):
Dan, can you tell us about careers?
Dan Olesen (01:20):
You know, careers is a lot of things. First of all,
it's a recognized industrydriven not for profit charity
foundation was started over 25years ago. And, you know, as an
organization, we have threemajor goals. One, go into the
(01:46):
schools, and inspire students,parents and teachers, to the
horizon of career opportunitiesin areas of skill shortages, to
inspire employers to injectyouth into their business into
their industry. Three, createpurposeful collisions between
(02:09):
students and employers forinternships, opportunities, or
experiential learning or workintegrated learning. We're best
known for our work in theskilled trades and our work with
the registered apprenticeshipprogram or rap. But today, you
know, our programming isincluding a lot of other
(02:30):
programs beyond the skilledtrades. So for example, you'll
see us promoting opportunitiesin information and
communication, technology,healthcare, agriculture, and
some other demandingopportunities, Alberta is going
to need to drive those economicengines.
Jason Cox (02:51):
One of the things you brought up there right away was,
I mean, broadcasting out to theprospective young students, and
then their employers who knowsmore about these opportunities?
Typically, is the messagegetting out more to the
employers or to the students?
Dan Olesen (03:13):
You know, that's a good question, actually. Um,
when we're talking about careersin the skilled trades, with
students, we're alsodeconstructing a lot of myths
and stereotypes, right. So we'rereally actively working to
(03:34):
promote the skilled trades atthe same merit value in work.
And that's new message to a lotof students and their supports
employers, they know about theapprenticeship program. But
sometimes they know, they don'tknow that the registered
apprenticeship program is anatural thing. Or they've had a
(03:58):
bad experience. And our job isto kind of make sure that the
process for both the studentsand the employers is easy and
rewarding. And really, you know,we get a lot of satisfaction
when we're actually able toincrease the probability for
(04:18):
both the student and theemployer. Right. So a lot of
people think that careers ownsthe registered apprenticeship
program. Maybe it's because it'smisnamed or mislabeled. Wrap is
actually a course like math 10.
Nobody owns math. Right? So itis a course and it's recognized
(04:43):
by Alberta education, andAlberta advanced education or
the apprenticeship board. Right?
And so it's actually a marriageof these these two bodies. And
it come With a little bit of adifferent set of rules, you
could say than traditionalapprenticeship. So educating
(05:09):
employers to those differentrules is a big challenge or it's
a big need. And then the biggestdifference between the
registered apprenticeshipprogram and traditional
apprenticeship is that studentscan earn 40% of their high
school diploma in the workplace.
Now, that's not crazy. But ifyou compare that to any other
(05:36):
province in Canada, it'sdefinitely an off campus
education program with a littlebit more strength behind. So but
Jason Cox (05:51):
absolutely Sorry to interrupt, but so up to 40% of
your high school credit. Now, itmay have changed a little bit in
the last few years. But Ipersonally, myself, I think of
high school is grade 1011, and12. So if you're getting 40% of
your credit, I mean, that'salmost like a full year of high
school. For these programs forrap, are we starting that in
(06:16):
grade 10?
Dan Olesen (06:18):
Yeah, some are. So really, you know, in my ideal
scenario, and that's changingreally quick, really quick. But
in an ideal scenario, you have astudent who in grade 10, is
learning high school, learningabout all the different options
and opportunities that highschool can give, right? And, and
(06:39):
we come in, and we say, hey,let's look at opportunities and
construction or vehicle andmotor service or cook bakers and
hairstyle. And they go, yeah,that's pretty cool. I want to
try and be an electrician thissummer. And so we take that
student as part of off campuseducation, and they start
(07:01):
exploring and experiencing theconstruction trade with an
employer that's excited aboutinjecting youth into their
business. So then grade 11,comes, right. And so now the
students in the employer have anoption, like, Hey, do do I want
to do all my courses the firstsemester, and work full time,
(07:23):
the second semester, or, like,our friend, Zach here, worked
full time the first semester,and then, and then go to school
full time, the second semester,or maybe I just want to take
advantage of all the coursesthat are available in high
school. And so I'm just going tofocus on high school for my
(07:44):
grade 11 year, and then seewhere I met next summer. So, so
often in Calgary, that's themost common center. Because of
some of the perceptions. One ofthe reasons is because some of
the perceptions around in theskilled trades, right. And, and
(08:05):
of course, you know, if my myson or daughter, if they want to
be in band and, and drama andjust get those experiences, I
totally encourage, then theycome back in grade 11. And they
go, You know what, I think givenmore responsibility, I'm
actually seeing this treatment atotally different way than I did
a year. So then again, to get totheir grade 12 year, you know,
(08:30):
by this time, they've earnedprobably 10 credits in the
registered apprenticeshipprogram, if they just did
something. And now they can havethe same options, again, work
full time, or maybe they'll workin the mornings and go to school
in the afternoon. If, if theproject in the employer can make
a schedule that fit, right. Sothey go to work in the mornings,
(08:54):
often in the construction sectorbecause of the toolbox seeking
meetings. Right? They get 10credits, the first semester of
grade 1210 credits again in thesecond semester of grade 12. Now
we're at 40 credits, thegraduate grade 12, with 40
credits in the registeredapprenticeship program. That's
(09:14):
how it works.
Zack Hartle (09:16):
So that's very cool, Dan. And as you mentioned,
there I was actually in theregistered apprenticeship
program 15 years ago now ish,but I do not remember how I got
into it. A friend situation doesdoing it kinda. But if now if
you're a student and you want toget into the program, you want
(09:37):
to try out a trade or I don'tknow if there's an option to
maybe try a couple differenttrades to see what you like, how
would a student go about gettinginto the program?
Dan Olesen (09:45):
So often cases, wrap is actually often students don't
go into rap right away. Theyactually start in a career
internship or work experience.
And that's where students canGet another five to 20 credits.
Okay, hold on a second, you'reprobably thinking about the math
here. But let's say we placedthem in, in one of our favorite
(10:09):
companies, and they don't signup to be an apprentice that
summer. So they got 10 creditsand work experience. And that
was their, their extraexploration grounds, right? If
you combine work experience,taking credits and work
experience and wrap credits, younow have 55 credits towards your
(10:29):
high school diploma. Okay, now Iheard what your question was
Zack. So I'm getting to it, Ipromise. Before we can get the
students enrolled in workexperience in rap. One of the
things that I love about thisprogram is a prerequisite safety
courses. And so these studentshave to do prerequisite
(10:51):
workplace safety courses beforethey can even go out and work
experience. And this is a ruleby Alberta education, it doesn't
matter what school division yougo to. So to get enrolled, the
very first thing that you haveto do is connect with your off
campus teacher at your highschool. Now, most high schools
(11:12):
have somebody appointed. But ifthey don't, then we can talk to
their district and find out whoin their district is responsible
for our campus education. And ifnobody's in their district is
then we start figuring out otheropportunities in collaboration
with our school divisions,that's more complicated. In
(11:35):
short, they go up to a counseloror an off campus teacher and
say, I want to do workexperience, I want to do rap.
And then the teacher will say,Do you have a job? Yeah, my
buddy's uncle has an opportunityfor me, great. You know what,
no, I don't know anybody in theelectrical trade. Great, I'm
(11:56):
going to introduce you tocareers right away. And you're
going to fill out anapplication, I'm going to tell
him, you've approved you for offcampus education, meaning you
have a good citizenship, meaningyou have a good, you know, good
references from the school,you're working to complete your
(12:17):
safety courses. And while we'redoing that, careers is gonna go
and see if they can find anemployer. That makes sense.
Zack Hartle (12:26):
Typically, do you guys have luck with that? Do you
have employers often willing tostep up and take the students?
Or is there a little bit more ofa juggling act?
Dan Olesen (12:35):
There's always a little bit of a juggling act,
right? Because he has to be aproject that you can can use
some extra talent, right foremerging talent, and that it has
to be, you know, some sort ofgeographical makes sense, right?
Because the students in Calgarycan't really work outside of the
(12:57):
city limits. Right. So there's alittle bit of a juggling act.
But I think that's one of theadvantages that careers brings
to the table for bothstakeholders, and players in
schools, is that we're creatingthat fit, we're aligning those
objectives, or those those needsare those expectations, so that
(13:22):
the whole process for thestudent and the employer look
seemingly ease that answer yourquestions that?
Zack Hartle (13:30):
Yes, definitely. I remember nothing of the process.
I just remember, my friend wasdoing it said go talk to the
counselor. I went, I said, Hey,did some stuff I don't know, so
long ago. And then I guess I waslucky, right? When I came in,
there was an economic boom,right? So there was people
looking for green first yearapprentices and I was very
(13:50):
green, I can tell you that. So
Dan Olesen (13:53):
you also have to kind of aligned sometimes a
little bit of personality.
Right? You know, when I youngwoman applies to be in the
trades, you know, there's lotsof employers that are forward
thinking and Equal Opportunityemployers, but sometimes, it
just makes sense to place afemale student who's just
(14:14):
exploring the opportunities, andis a little bit more nervous
with a female dream person.
Right? Because then thatmentorship can really bond with
relatable experience. Right? Sosometimes you can take that idea
and you can think aboutethnicity. Right? You can think
about some students are really,really more timid. And they need
(14:39):
that employer that has thatability to break through that
shell a little bit. And thenthere are students who are, you
know, a little bit toocourageous, and you got to put
them with more safety consciousemployer with more strict
programs so that they can kindof bridle that. That enthusiasm
Jason Cox (15:02):
I've got a question here, it seems that the career
counselors in the schools are acritical part to this whole
marriage of careers. And our whois the one that's speaking to
these counselors to ensure thatthey are aware of the other
options other than just postsecondary education? Being a
(15:25):
university degree?
Dan Olesen (15:30):
Yeah, everything that careers does is in
collaboration with our schoolswithout our schools supporting
the program. Wrap doesn't exist.
Okay. But I hear what you'resaying. I think that the
responsibility rests on thecommunity. And every
(15:50):
stakeholders from, from ourpartners and our friends at
sait, to our, our friends at theapprenticeship board, to the
employers that have their theirstudents going to that school, I
can tell you a few stories,right. So that it has to come
from multiple channels. Butcareers is definitely I take it
(16:17):
as a responsibility. I don'tknow if it's a careers, you
know, mission statement. Butit's it's definitely upon my
responsibility that I've had theprivilege of meeting some of the
most influential industryleaders this province has to
offer. And every opportunity Ihave to add caliber to the
discussion of what the tradesare. I do it. Sometimes it takes
(16:43):
10 years, I've had scienceteachers come up to me. After
nine years of presenting to27,000 students, he came up to
me he says, you know, again,sort, I didn't even know who the
guy was. I said, What are yousorry, about, he says, you can
(17:05):
come in here every year. Andthis is the first time I've ever
seen your presentation. I didn'tsee the relevancy of my science
class, seeing your presentation.
And I get it now. Right? So it'sa little bit more. You got to be
(17:26):
consistent. And you got to beemploying your principles and
your critical thinking and yourwillingness to listen, and your
willingness to prove yourselfwrong.
Jason Cox (17:35):
That I've known you for probably close to 10 years
now. So So you've been you'vebeen working with careers for
quite some time. Are you seeingthat that that epiphany or that
change where you're talking toschools now versus when you
first started out?
Dan Olesen (17:51):
Um, yeah, right, I see a lot more programming and a
lot more discussions and a lotmore opportunities surrounding
the skilled trades and thedevelopment of skilled trades. I
don't always agree with some ofthe strategies that are around
these initiatives. But I do seea higher frequency of
(18:16):
communication.
Zack Hartle (18:18):
And with that higher communication are, you
know, over the last 10 years,are we seeing a higher turnover
from students getting into thetrades? Like more students per
year? Are you trending upwards?
I guess, would be my question.
Dan Olesen (18:31):
Yeah, absolutely.
Definitely. Placing morestudents, we're definitely on an
upward trajectory before COVID.
Right. And in careers incollaboration with our other
programming. We have an intendedtarget of about 6000 interns
(18:52):
across Alberta, by 2023. Andright now, well, before COVID,
we were replacing about 1500. Sowe placed 1600. Last year, and I
think this year, we're lookingat 2500.
Zack Hartle (19:07):
And that was going to be my next question about how
COVID has maybe made it moredifficult for you guys, or, as
we've heard from a lot of otherguests to maybe given you guys
opportunities to do things alittle bit differently.
Dan Olesen (19:18):
Yeah, COVID is, you know, complex, has has had a
complex, you know, effect on thesocial phenomenon surrounding
the skilled trades. Right. And Iwish I was smarter to talk about
it, but the the economicchallenges facing a lot of
(19:39):
companies and COVID andeverything else we saw, we saw a
large exodus of foreign talentor outside talent in Alberta
lead again. And so that'screated a lot of opportunities
for for, or has created a strongneed to grow some local talent
(20:00):
Right. So, on one hand, that'sgood. I think one of the biggest
challenges is the microconversations, right? Where, you
know, we get on these zoomcalls, and one of the things
that we want to do is get offthese zoom calls. And so when
(20:23):
you have a construction teacheror a CTS teacher that's trying
to connect with Allison orMohammed or Johnny, who are in
the CTS classes, because theylike to, you know, take what's
going on here and putting itinto here. Well, for them to sit
on a zoom call, they're goingBatty, right? So, you know, that
(20:47):
CTS teacher doesn't really havethe opportunity to have that
micro conversation and say, Hey,Muhammad, you know, I've been
seeing how you've been solvingthis complex problem in your, in
your carpentry class. And youmight have the foundation of
skills to attrition. But they'renot having that conversation,
(21:08):
because you can't do that onZoom. Very easily. Right? You
don't see Allison running downthe halls and, and watching the
electrician run wires throughthe ceiling. And her going, what
are you doing? Right? And theteacher saying, Hey, you're
really interested in that. Let'stalk about that. So those micro
(21:32):
conversations are hurting. Andthen of course, all the
restrictions and, andperceptions of COVID. And those
fears and those risks. They'veall created all these little
micro barriers that we have tosolve. I could go on, but I'm
still like I'm battling.
Zack Hartle (21:51):
That's good. That's answered my questions. That's
perfect.
Jason Cox (21:55):
He could be in store for a huge tidal wave of post
COVID items, right? We just wedon't even know what they are.
Because like you said, there hasbeen an exodus from the
province. And there's beenpeople that have been put aside
and paused and I mean, thrownlike, tilt left field. So we
(22:16):
don't know what's what's goingto happen moving forward here.
So this kind of bridges into mynext question. So I asked you a
moment ago, about studentsentering the trades as young as
grade 10. Yeah. What's thewhat's the age limit? So I've
graduated high school, am Istill eligible for any of these
programs?
Dan Olesen (22:36):
You've graduated high school, you're still
eligible to be an apprentice,right? Yeah. If someone's crazy
enough to hire you, they careersis really focused, has really
been focused on on high schoolstudents up north, we have a Co
Op program. What we're seeingnow with careers is we're right
(22:58):
now trying to develop messagingor strategies around you, 21, or
persons under the age of 21. Andit looks like it's going to be a
good idea. Because, you know,COVID, has had an impact on high
school education for two yearsnow, and probably is going to
(23:20):
continue to have an impact forat least a little while. Right.
So there's a lot of people whoare leaving high school on this
trajectory that they thoughtthey were going to be on that
didn't get access to thedifferent ideas or different
options that were available. Andthey're going to be saying,
they're going to still have thesame questions for the same
challenges. So we're going tohave to support that group under
(23:46):
the age of 21. So to accesscareers programming right now,
Jason, you have to be 21 yearsless a day. And that's for the
skilled trades. The otherprogramming like agriculture and
(24:06):
ICT, you have to be in highschool.
Zack Hartle (24:09):
So Daniel mentioned that you're here in Calgary, I
assume Calgary is kind of yourarea and I know you look after
electrical but in your portfolioin this position, do you look
after other trades or otherareas as well?
Dan Olesen (24:21):
Absolutely. All 49 Plus trades are eligible. Now
there's certain trades that arereally harder to place like we
don't please a lot of highschool students as crane hoist
operators. But we do figure outways to connect them to the
industry in other ways. Barbers,hairstyles, cooks, bakers,
(24:46):
appliance service technician,welders. We're working with all
of them. And we're really, we'vebeen doing that since 1997 1992.
And you We're also taking thebest parts of apprenticeship and
trying to apply it to the othersectors. You know, and this is
(25:09):
kind of related to maybe some ofthe things that we're going to
see with the development of Bill67. I don't know, it's kind of
above my pay bracket. But, youknow, imagine we could get every
single high school student, orrecent high school student
exploring and experiencing theircareers before post secondary,
(25:34):
so that they could choose thebest path and their commitment
to lifelong learning with a fitfor purpose. And so when we look
at careers, like in technology,like software developments,
right, there's some aspects inthose careers where you need
that university degree. Butsometimes, all you really need
(25:57):
to know is maybe the foundationof skills for Python, to get
that job and start contributingto the economic engine.
Zack Hartle (26:09):
Well, that's that's how I answer the question. Every
time someone asked me like, Oh,what do I need to be a good
apprentice electrician, well,show up on time and listen and
work hard, like you don't needfor a lot of jobs, especially in
the skilled trades, you don'tneed a lot of knowledge about
what you're doing. You just needto show up and listen to the
people who know what they'redoing. Right. Like that applies
(26:30):
across all those careers thatyou guys put forward.
Dan Olesen (26:35):
Yeah, you know, then sometimes there's a foundation
of skills that are required,right, depending on the
opportunity, like, it's reallyhard to place an electrician
when they don't even know what aPhillips screwdriver is, right?
It's kind of hard. We've doneit, right. But it's hard. But
(26:57):
yeah, so, you know, I've beensaying, For 10 years more,
there's only four things youneed. Teamwork, willingness to
put the interest of others aheadof your own positive attitude.
I'm not saying you have to cometo work every day with a big
smile on your face, but you haveto be willing to do the tasks
and responsibilities assigned toyou to the best of your
(27:18):
abilities, strong work ethic,which is just accountability, to
do the job to the best of yourabilities, and most importantly,
a willingness to learn. And ifyou come to every opportunity,
and it for a guy like me whobarely graduated high school, I
gotta tell you, that's whatsaved my butt more than a few
times. Just that unbridledwillingness to learn. So, it's
(27:46):
really important that, thatevery new apprentice brings that
to to the table. But it's funny,because employers often tell
asked me, you know, what do theyneed to provide students for
them to be successful? Samething. Right, it's just like,
(28:13):
you gotta you got to treat them,like you're willing to put their
interests sometimes ahead ofyour own, you know, you have to,
you have to listen to them and,and assign them tasks and
responsibilities that areencouraging to them. Right? And
if you suck at mentorship, thenyou have to be willing to learn
(28:34):
how to be a mentor. Right? Andit's not the students fault.
Right? And that's kind of kindof where I can go off on another
rant on that. But it's not aboutmoney. It really isn't. Right. A
lot of employers say, Oh, Idon't know, we have the money
(28:54):
for this. Well, if you actuallyknow how to assign tasks
effectively and efficiently, youcan make money on anybody.
Really, you're just not runningyour businesses smoothly. And
maybe that's really easy to say,as the guy who's not running a
business. But, you know, I havebeen an entrepreneur and I've
(29:20):
hired lots of different kinds ofpeople. Well, I
Jason Cox (29:23):
really liked what you mentioned earlier, you talked
about learning, and learningdoesn't necessarily have to
happen in the classroom. Right?
So with your vision, or youryour thought about being able to
go and go out and experienceyour prospective career before
you actually make thatcommitment to all the formalized
education. But I mean, thatcould be an incredible learning
(29:46):
activity. Right, right off thebat, and I mean, everybody now
learns outside of the classroom.
But when you talk to people whoare Older there, oh, I, I didn't
like school. I didn't like that.
And then the next day you talkto them about fixing an
appliance in their house. Andthey're like, Oh, how did you do
(30:09):
that? Oh, I just watched aYouTube video. Right? I read
this book, or my neighbor showedme, right? So you're continuing
to learn, but you're learningfrom your friends, your
neighbors, your peers, or maybefrom a video shot online. Right.
But yeah, I, I'm exactly on thesame, same train of thought, as
(30:31):
you. Like, if I could go out andactually just participate in the
career I thought I'd like tohave before I invested all that
time. What a great idea.
Dan Olesen (30:47):
You know, and it just doesn't have to be about
the position. Like I worked witha bunch of students on a weekly
basis last year. And, and Iasked him, What's the one thing
you would want me to changeabout the program? And they
said, Dan, put less focus on theposition, and more on the
(31:08):
mission of the company. What?
And they're like, you know, weget shoveled these opportunities
all the time, but you're alwaystelling us you can teach us the
skill. Okay, so tell us moreabout why the company exists.
What is it that they want toachieve? And how am I going to
(31:30):
be a part of that success? I'lllearn the skills, but I want you
to inspire me first. I was justlike, you're in grade 11. And
you're telling me this? Okay.
Right. A tall order, Dan. Iknow, right? But you know, so I
(31:50):
remember years ago, this kidcame up to me and he said, Dan,
I really want to be afirefighter. And I said, okay,
but ain't good for you. I can'thelp you. I don't police
firefighters. He's like, No, youdon't understand. I want to
learn the construction industry,because that'll make me a better
firefighter. And I said forgrade 10. Logic, buddy, that's
(32:12):
brilliant. Let's go with that.
And so we put them out in theconstruction industry, is that a
ladder interior systemsmechanic. Okay. Nobody knows
what that trade is, by the way,that's fun. And, and he goes
into it. And guess what, heloved it. And so, you know, fast
forward three years is the guy.
(32:36):
You know, fast forward fiveyears is the guy a firefighter
is the guy a ladder interiorsystems mechanic, know, he's
going into safe to takeConstruction Project Management.
Right? He fell in love with anindustry. This isn't just about
growing skilled trades people.
This is about crawling futureleaders, people who can step
(33:01):
into being an instructor, beingan entrepreneur, being a project
manager, being a civil engineer,and actually respecting the
industry, and every piece ofthat puzzle. Arias gives me all
excited, but I have a sayingthat I still I go into a shop
(33:24):
who was an auto body mechanic.
And, and I said, I can'tremember the remark that I said,
and I and I said, Yeah, youknow, every kid has to start at
the bottom. And he said, Well,we'll we'll Don't ever say that
in my shop. I said, Okay, Ithought I seriously offended the
(33:47):
guy. He says nobody that startsworking here starts the bottom.
Everybody started to begin. And,and, you know, like, what a
change in in the language.
Right. And so now, you know, asBill Black from the president or
(34:09):
the president of the CCA wouldsay, you know, an opportunity in
the construction sector is oneof the few industries where you
can go from broom to Boardroom.
Right. Maybe it's a little bitabout the respect and the honor
and the privilege of holding abroom. And everything that comes
(34:34):
with that. It's not aboutpushing the broom it is but it's
also the opportunity to lookaround, see what's happening and
go Yeah, I'm working for thiselectrical company, but that
plumber over there. Learn whatthat guy is doing. Right. If I
could go back I'd be a plumber.
No offense electricians, but I'dbe a plumber.
Jason Cox (35:00):
It seems that a lot of times on job sites, it's it's
like the plumbers and theelectricians are the ones that
like we really have tocoordinate together. So we kind
of, it's like we're brothers,like, I know fighting big
brother, little brother orfighting twins or whatever. But,
I mean, usually we get along onthe job sites.
Dan Olesen (35:22):
But you know, I think that's what a lot of, you
know, and you hear it fromcompanies all the time, like,
man, if this engineer had workedat day, he wouldn't be designed
in this crazy. Honest, it'slike, well, why aren't why
aren't they working throughtoday? Yeah.
Jason Cox (35:41):
Yeah. And I mean, that's the thing is, it's when
you're an engineer, it's such avast profession, right? Even I
mean, even if you're just anelectrical engineer, so I, I am
very inquisitive. And I askedlots of questions. So I had an
engineer on my site once and Ithink you're an engineer, I go
European. She goes, Yeah, I go,Great. Can you explain to me how
(36:01):
this works, and he's like, andhe was like, he's like, my
things, lighting or my thingsfire alarm, he goes, I have no
idea how the electronics andthat works. But it's the vast
world. And is
Zack Hartle (36:16):
Sudan coming at this from an employer's side of
things a little bit more, we'vebeen talking about the
opportunities for the students alot. I'm an employer, what's the
advantage to me of coming infinding somebody in the
registered apprenticeshipprogram versus putting an ad on
Facebook or LinkedIn or whateverand getting? Who knows who
Dan Olesen (36:38):
I'm, I'm not gonna say you can't find great talent
by putting an ad out. But let'sjust say you had two people have
equal intelligence, equalpotential. And one was doing was
applying for the job because thecompany inspired them to do it.
(37:02):
And, and they saw it as a coolopportunity, and really wanted
to do it. And the other personwas doing it because
you needed a job. And there was$1 figure attached to it. Who do
you think it's going to bringmore in the long term?
(37:27):
Right, if you can actually say,Wow, you really, genuinely just
want to be here. What? Because Iwant the experience I want to
learn, you can pay me minimumwage, I don't care. Okay, so I
have to talk about safety. Andthen a lot of people, a lot of
organizations have come to meand said, Dan, we only hire
(37:49):
people over the age of 18. And Igo, Okay, why? Well, because
they're more safe. Kate, whatmagic trigger happens? Oh, well,
they're more mature. Really.
Right. You have 400 studentsthat are getting
recommendations, taking safetycourses, filling out
(38:11):
applications, doing resumes,doing screening, just to get an
internship over the guy who'splaying on Kijiji ad for 18
bucks an hour. So what'sinteresting is that if safety
was the real big issue, and youhad a choice of hiring a guy, or
girl that worked at the movietheater, no, nothing movie
(38:37):
theaters a bad job. But youknow, it's a little bit less
structured, there's a little bitmore horseplay allowed, right?
Or you hire that 16 year oldthat had to learn safety
protocols every day, everymorning. From the very first job
that they have, what habits youwant to buy first?
Jason Cox (39:07):
It's the habits.
Yeah, you're 100%. Right. In oneof our previous podcasts, one of
the guests talked about gettingpeople that were green, so they
could start to build them intothe employee that they wanted.
And you're right here too. If ifsomebody comes into the industry
right away, and they begin theirday, every day with that safety
(39:30):
protocol, than to them that'sjust not that's just normal.
Right. So that that could beinvaluable.
Dan Olesen (39:38):
Yeah, average age of a first year apprentice in
Alberta. How old is it? Youknow?
Jason Cox (39:43):
I'm going to take in I've got a number of my head
Zack, what do you got a number?
Zack Hartle (39:48):
I got a number.
Yeah, I would say 26
Jason Cox (39:51):
I guess 23
Dan Olesen (39:55):
I think I told Zack this before good. She's like
dead on it Hmm, first year breadisn't Alberta, last time I
checked, most are going in whenthey're 19. But the average age
26. Now, now, when we thinkabout this, you know, I'm not an
expert in adult education theoryor in biological sciences. But
(40:18):
if we actually look at theability to learn versus the
effort toward or compared to theeffort to learn, once we hit 25,
the quarter life crisis, right?
The the effort to learn startsto being an impeding factor,
like a real imputing. Factor.
(40:41):
And so, so, even if they'rehiring most of the apprentices
at 19, and that's their firstjob, you're spending more time
and more money because a 19 yearold is going to request demand
more money than a 16 year old,right, just in terms of wages.
(41:04):
So you're spending more moneyand more time to indoctrinates
or socialize basic employabilityskills. Right, because I've
never had a job. So you're,you're actually going through
that culture shock at 19. versusspending less money. And having
(41:27):
this arsenal of coaches like anoff campus teacher, parents
careers, all these peopleworking together to teach these
employability skills. So byhiring younger, you're actually
going to expedite talent andinnovation to production. But
employers don't see it that way.
Because they say, well, it'sgonna take three years for that
(41:49):
kid to be 19. Yet, but at 19, mykid's gonna be worth 20 was a 23
year old and he still has from19 to 20. Before he's 23,
Jason Cox (42:05):
you could look at it from the perspective of a hockey
player. Right? That's good. He'sgot all the skill, but yeah, we
can, obviously, yeah, but we canput them into that contract for
four extra years. Right. So.
Dan Olesen (42:18):
But it does make a lot of economic sense, right? To
grow your game, if we actuallysat down and thought about how
much adult education costs, andwe realized that this was a
multi billion dollar industry,why? Right, it's hard. It's
(42:41):
really a hard thing to do.
Engineering, and inspiring youthto be everything that they are
and everything that they shouldbe. Well, that's easy,
relatively. And it's fun. So nowyou can have your third year,
apprentice, learning leadership,learning mentorship, learning
(43:04):
culture of the business, byteaching high school students.
Right, you can actually infuseit in through your entire
industry, or your entirecompany. And here's the best
part, here's what's really good.
Does anybody know what theaverage costs of getting local
(43:26):
talent from, from, hey, a jobexists to shovel on the ground?
No idea. Know. So you know,numbers are all over the place,
but it's anywhere from you know,$1,500 to 7000, on average. So
(43:51):
that means the company has toput out marketing, they have to,
they have to pick if they wantto do it on Indeed, GG,
whatever, they have to siftthrough all the applications,
all the resumes, right, thenthey have to host the interview,
schedule, the interviews, thendo all the other stuff that
comes up. And there'sorganizations like careers that
(44:16):
are supported by industrysupported by government that's
doing all that work for free. Soyou take that every time you
hire a student, you're gonna geta higher probability of getting
our emerging best. without allthe extra stuff that doesn't
(44:40):
really add value to yourbusiness.
Zack Hartle (44:43):
Did these employers need to commit to a length of
time to employ the apprentice?
Like do they have to commit tothe seven months for summer and
semester or anything like that?
Dan Olesen (44:55):
No, I think there's an ethical obligation, right
like Taking a kid for two daysand then cutting them loose,
back might just be a jerk moveto do, right? Unless it's like
safety related. Like in all newhires, right, if they're a
threat to themselves or a threatto the organization, of course,
(45:17):
you can let them go after anhour, five minutes, I don't
care. But if you're going totake on a student, then I'm
going to encourage it, theemployer and the student had
this unbridled willingness tolearn, right, so that means
they're working the project forat least 75 to 125 hours, that
(45:37):
gives a student five creditstowards your high school
diploma, good three weeks tolearn the culture, maybe learn
some do's and don'ts, and reallysee if you can, you know,
expedite a potential fordevelopment. That's pretty much
what I asked.
Zack Hartle (45:57):
Is there hotspots in the province? Like, do you
see a lot more rap students inCalgary versus Edmonton or
anything like that?
Dan Olesen (46:05):
Um, you know, I think culture has a lot of
things to do with it. I thinkthat, you know, work integrated
learning and being able to marrythe workplace with schooling is
is a really good idea. But inCalgary, I would say that
there's opportunities, but theidea of a student working half
(46:30):
days, and going to school halfdays, in the construction
sector, is less frequent. Butdefinitely more common in
Edmonds, or red deer or some ofour rural districts. Right. So
why is that?
Zack Hartle (46:50):
Great question.
Dan Olesen (46:52):
You know, and we can we, we can see that it's, you
know, culture of the family andphilosophies there that, you
know, my kid has to focus onschool and schools. That's it.
We can say that there's an Idon't know if this is true or
(47:13):
not, I have no idea. But, youknow, is there a more of a push
for Tavi students to go touniversity than there is seen
Edmonton or some of the ruralcommunities? You know, those
would all be interestingquestions? Or are students just
more entitled? And it's like,Man, I don't mind working in
summer, but you want me to workout in the cold? Forget, you
(47:36):
don't want to do that. Maybethat's what it is. Right? And
then, of course, it can go downto the schools. Right. The
schools are definitelyforwarding and education agenda
and how they're funded. Right? Idon't, I'm wondering if this is
gonna get me fired, actually, bytelling you this? I don't know.
(47:59):
Maybe I should think aboutpolitics. Right. But the schools
have to be able to offer thecurriculum, right. And, and the
community has to be willing tosupport it. At the end of the
day, it's not a governmentproblem. It's not a schooling
problem. It's not a stateproblem. It's an industry
(48:22):
problem. Industry has to bewilling to play a part in the
education process. And, and whenthey do, everything happens
faster. And it hasn't betterthan relying on somebody else,
to come up with the solutionthat they need. If they see the
(48:44):
solution, they should beparticipating in it, not relying
on somebody else to come up withit for
Jason Cox (48:51):
what would be the best way for interested parties
to kind of get in contact withcareers about potential
opportunities.
Dan Olesen (49:03):
The best way to get in contact with careers is pick
up your phone and call, callyour local program coordinator
connect with them on LinkedIn.
clinic careers website isprobably the easiest thing to do
and send them an email. The onething that careers has is this
energy and passion to helpeverybody. There's nobody that's
(49:32):
working in careers that iswaiting for an opportunity.
We're all trying to look at theglass half empty. And that
doesn't mean that we'repessimists. It just, we
recognize what we have. Andwe're all looking for the
(49:52):
opportunities to Comorian.
Zack Hartle (49:56):
And you know, Dan, I think that you are a prime
example. have that and yourunbridled enthusiasm for what
you do? How did you get like,how did you end up in this
position? Because I don't thinkyou have a trade, if that's
correct. How'd you get here?
Being a spokesperson for thetrades and other careers, I
guess,
Dan Olesen (50:17):
I went to a wedding and I was sitting at a table.
And some person made a smartremark about being a plumber.
And I was a little bit under theinfluence. And so I went off on
one of my passionate rants asI'm known for. And this person
(50:41):
said, That was brilliant. Here'smy card. And I looked at the
card, and I showed it to mywife. And she's like, Yeah, I
know who that is. And I said,Who's that? Well, he's, he's the
vice president of StakeholderRelations for careers and, and
in Canada supports careers. AndI said, Oh, she's like, you
(51:01):
should look into it. And sobecause she was encouraging me,
because her the relationship inCanada had and now Synovus has
with careers. I kind of thinkthat company for, for having the
(51:24):
seeds in place for me to do whatit is that I
Jason Cox (51:26):
do. That's very cool.
Yeah. Yeah.
Dan Olesen (51:30):
So without, without those connections, and wanting
to be a plumber, I don't thinkI'd be where I am.
Jason Cox (51:41):
Yeah, you're very passionate to different I've
never seen anyone defend aplumber that wasn't a plumber.
So that's, that's, that's reallygood for you.
Dan Olesen (51:52):
Not that I don't love electricians. Right. I've
learned a lot from hanging outwith electricians, and our
mutual friends. And, you know, Igotta say, it's just like some
of the some of the trades peoplethat I've met as a result of
this, this connection that I'vebeen able to make with industry
(52:14):
leaders. That's where thepassion comes from. Right? You
meet all these great people, allthese smart people, some of them
are rough around the edges. Someof them are absolute nerds,
right. But you take a piece ofwhat they know what they've
(52:34):
experienced, and what they wouldwant to share if they can get on
the same soap boxes that I wasgetting on. And so I just take a
piece from everybody stitch themall together, and hopefully come
up with some sort of messagethat can resonate with the
listeners. So it has nothingreally, I'm glad that you guys
(52:55):
think I'm passionate. And thenthat's what I really want to
convey. But really what I'mdoing is I'm just feeling the
passion from everybody else. Andhopefully, I'm being a
respectable vehicle for whatthey would want to see if they
were standing in the same placeas I was,
Zack Hartle (53:13):
and willing to speak as loudly as you speak
about it.
Dan Olesen (53:17):
Yes, that's true.
Now, how
Jason Cox (53:19):
long have you been with careers now?
Dan Olesen (53:21):
I'm in my 11th.
Year. So I want to say yeah,presented to over 27,000
students. I don't know how manyemployers are. I've on boarded
more than 400 new employers tothe program. For sure. I've
(53:42):
helped connect, probably about1000 students to career up to
employers who were excited toinject youth into their
business. And hopefully, I'vecrowd the cages, if you will,
(54:07):
of, you know, a few 1000 parentsand teachers and people who had
a misunderstanding of what itmeans to be an Albertan.
Jason Cox (54:26):
Well, I'm on your website right now. So it's www
dot careers next gen.ca. Is thatcorrect? Yeah. And the phone
number is 1-888-757-7172. Ibelieve that's the number so
toll free anywhere in theprovince if people want more
(54:46):
information on careers.
Zack Hartle (54:49):
All right. Right before we sign off, Dan, what's
your one last piece of advicefor a student? And what's your
one last piece of advice for anemployer
Dan Olesen (54:57):
my last piece of advice for a student and I've
said This is probably everysingle presentation I've ever
done. The next time somebodyasks you, what are you going to
do with the rest of your life?
You look them straight in theeye. And you say, I have no
idea. And I'm going to starthere, I'm gonna start by doing
this right or wrong pass orfail, I'm gonna be better as a
(55:22):
result of the experience. Forthe employers, it's simple. You
know, let's, let's build yourbusiness, let's build your
industry. And let's figure out away to, to connect you with our
emerging best. If that's highschool, if that's a different
(55:46):
group, great. But let's worktogether to to better prepare
Alberta for the road ahead. Andfor the employers, you know that
quickly, right now in 2022, isFebruary 17. If they were to
contact careers right now andsay, hey, I want to hire a high
(56:11):
school students for the summer,they might be eligible to get
about $10,800. To hire thatstudent. Now, I want to be
clear. And curious isn't tellingme to say this, this isn't about
hiring cheap labor. This isabout taking advantage of
(56:35):
government funding, to build thespin within your business, to to
engage youth in your communityeffectively and efficiently, and
start building the mentorshipstandards within your business.
If you just see the talent as $8An hour talent, you're not going
(56:58):
to be in a better place twoyears from now. That's my
position. And, and that's,that's the Alberta. That's the
future, I think is worth workingfor. Well,
Zack Hartle (57:15):
thank you very much, Dan, for chatting with us
today.
Dan Olesen (57:20):
Thanks for having me, guys. It's always a pleasure
to hang out with the two guysthat I look up to in the world.
Jason Cox (57:26):
Thanks a lot. That was a great conversation with
Dan, I learned a little bit moreabout entry into the trades
stuff that you would haveexperienced Zack. And I think in
that interview, you actuallysaid that there was parts to
that entry in your journey thatthat you kind of forgotten about
(57:48):
or, or were in a little fuzzy.
So it was really good for Dan,to remind us on some of the some
of the benefits of the ratprogram and some of the services
available by careers. Kind ofreflecting on that episode.
Zach, was there anything any bigtakeaway that you got out of it?
Zack Hartle (58:08):
I think what stands out to me, and I mean, this has
been a something we've talkedabout for is like, there's still
that stigma about entering thetrades, there's still an need
for people. I mean, we've got alittle bit of a labor shortage
starting in right now. Andapparently, it's going to be
getting worse. I mean, again,yeah, the hard part is just
(58:28):
getting that message across towhether it be schools or whether
it be students or whether it beparents, I'm not sure who that
message needs to get to, butjust that trades of of any type
are a viable option, right, sothat we can get more young
people into the trade, whetherit's going to be something they
do for their whole life, orwhether it's a stepping stone to
move on to something else. Imean, one of the quotes that
(58:53):
came up today is right, youknow, trades is one of the only
places you go from room toBoardroom. Right. And I that
that kind of resonated quite abit with me because it it is a
stepping stone, it can be a pathto so many other things. Or it
can be a solid, good 40 yearcareer. Right. There's kind of
choose your own adventure almostwith apprenticeship and trades.
Jason Cox (59:14):
Yeah, and I think we could do an entire episode on
the stigma of the trades. It'ssomething that's bothered me for
a long time as being guilty ofbeing on both sides of that I've
probably talked about that inthe past. But I think my neatest
takeaway for me on this was, Iam a parent of two young adults,
(59:36):
and I had no idea the amount ofhigh school credits that were
available. So I think Dan saidin excess of 40, up to a maximum
of 55 credits was was I thinkwhat he explained which are
Zack Hartle (59:52):
like the half right, that'd be just over half
of your high school. Right.
Jason Cox (59:56):
Exactly. Right. So I mean, that was it. That was a
The big takeaway for me, but thething that really impressed me
was the the mandatory safetytraining for the rap students.
Prior to getting the workexperience. I think you're
(01:00:18):
setting an example right off thebat where you have the safety in
place. The expectations are madebefore the students go on to the
job site. So they're at leastaware of some of the possible
dangers and hazards. I was veryimpressed by that.
Zack Hartle (01:00:36):
And I agree with that completely. So I mean, I
think the message here at theend of this episode is if you
are a parent of someone if youare an employer looking for
apprentices, or if you knowsomebody who's of high school
age and you think trades mightbe right for them, I think
careers is a great resource toreach out to hit up their
website, which we will link inthe description below. As
(01:00:59):
always, if you enjoyed thisshow, make sure you leave a
review on Apple or Spotify.
Check us out on Facebook orInstagram @wattsthewordpodcast
and for now, have a great dayand thank you so much for
listening
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!