The majority of Tara Balsdon’s friends have no clue what direction their lives might journey when they leave high school.
At 16 years old, it’s a safe bet they’re flirting between being submerged in social media and studying hard to bolster their grade-point average in a bid to clear a path into the right university.
Although Tara, a Grade 11 student at Hugh Boyd secondary, has one eye on the books, she’s also firmly focused on what and who she envisions being when she graduates in about 18 months’ time.
And when that day arrives, there’s a good chance the recent recruit into Richmond School District’s two-year ACE-IT Hairstylist program will be well on her way to realizing a career goal, as she now spends most of her class time in the school’s “salon,” learning different haircuts, various braids and how to use styling irons.
“I’m really into hair and make-up and always have been. My mom was hesitant at first, but now she’s glad,” said Tara.
Recently featured in the Richmond News, Tara is one of 12 students currently enrolled in the hair-styling course in the district’s ACE-IT (Accelerated Credit Enrolment in Industry Training) program.
And she’s one of 53 Grade 11 and 12 teenagers devoting the lion’s share of their ACE-IT “trades” include Auto Service Technician at McNair, Piping/Plumbing at Palmer and Professional Cook at Richmond secondary.
B.C.’s Industry Training Authority (ITA) oversees ACE-IT programs across the province, billing it as a “chance to try out different trades and get a head start on an apprenticeship while you’re still in high school.”
The programs are deliberately targeted to engineer a fast-track into a life in the trade of the student’s choice, with successful candidates leapfrogging into the second level of continuing education once they’ve graduated from high school with a very valuable certificate in their back pocket.
In Tara’s case, where it could lead, according to her hair design instructor, Rhonda Stangeland, is a hair and/or make-up career in TV, film, advertising, business ownership and even teaching.
“The trades are a great way to get a head start in life and are a great way to have a successful career and earn good money,” said Stangeland, who’s been heading up the program for four years, with varying enrolment numbers.
“They can finish their apprenticeship here and then do another 3,600 hours in the field, which equates to about 2-2.5 years.”
Convincing students of the hidden, and obvious, value of the district’s ACE-IT programs is one thing, said Stangeland — winning over the parents, is quite another.
“This is very real and it can lead to all kinds of things. Parents should come along and spend some time here and see how students are flourishing,” she added.
