Let the Hard Hat Tours Begin
“What do you want to be when you grow up?”
Career education, guidance and exposure during the early years of education is important, yet something that likely rarely happens. Thinking back to when you were a kid, chances are you were only aware of the jobs that those close to you were involved in (parents, siblings, teachers, etc). Or maybe you saw something on TV or in a movie that looked interesting? But apart from these small glimpses into career choices, how can kids break out of their intimate circles of knowledge to see career pathways that could look different from what they are already aware of?
We believe one of the answers to this question is through guided tours in industries that could be future career pathways for the youth in our program. Through our connections in the community, we feel that we can be that “hub in the wheel” to bring together businesses and kids.
In January, Willamette Technical Fabricators stepped up in a big way to help us jump start our new “hard hat tours”. Through Al Nodarse’s extensive relationship network, Faithful Friends joined forces with Friends of the Children and others to bring youth (ranging from 10-18) and their mentors or parents to hear firsthand from experts in the field of sustainable structural metal manufacturing.
Our Vancouver-based tour covered the basics on the industry while we got to explore some of the massive structures that they are working on currently. While Keith and Alicia provided most of the information for our tour, other employees also provided further context based on their areas of expertise. They seemed to really enjoy having the kids around to take a peek into their world.
Our tour ended back in the conference room where kids donned VR goggles to try their hands (safely and virtually) at welding.
With the launch of this corporate program, we at Faithful Friends hope that a spark will be ignited that provides hope for a future that offers good pay and a steady career, as well as access to industry professionals happy to guide and direct youth into career pathways that best suite their interests.
Willamette Technical Fabricators CEO Alicia Chapman shares further about her vision in sharing career pathways at an early age:
We love bringing the youth and enthusiasm of children to companies where employees can interact with our students, answering questions and providing helpful insight into their chosen career pathways.
