By Michel Leblanc, President and CEO of the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal, published in La Presse and La Presse+.
February 18, 2015
Trades: a solution to dropping out
Education in Quebec has always been the subject of heated debate. For years, we have been seeking a consensus that would provide as many students as possible access to education and respond to the chronic underfunding of institutions of higher learning. However, the financial issue is not the only thing jeopardizing young people’s success.
Despite a recent rise in the graduation rate, many young people are still leaving school too early. In Montréal, one young person in five drops out before getting a high school diploma, and barely 52% of young people go directly from high school to CEGEP.
It is true that in recent years we have seen a growing awareness in society about the importance of staying in school. The public discourse has changed, many civil society organizations have rolled up their sleeves and the private sector has committed financially.
Since 2009, graduation rates have been climbing; we have gained 5.7 percentage points during that time. Our collective efforts are paying off, and that’s cause for celebration.
In spite of this, everyone knows a young person who is hesitating when it comes to pursuing their studies or who is even in the process of dropping out. What should we do?
I think that part of the answer lies in recognizing the value of trades. These are jobs that require only a few years of professional or technical training and that offer exciting, fulfilling challenges. There is demand for tradespeople, and the jobs pay well and open the door to stable, interesting careers.
These jobs exist in every industry – health care, aerospace, administration, information and communication technologies, transportation and logistics, and others. Requiring training that ranges from a vocational diploma completed in a few months to a DEC completed in three years, they lead directly to stable, high-paying jobs. Heavy equipment mechanics, civil engineering technicians, construction inspectors, medical radiation technologists, drillers and blasters for open-pit mines, quarries and construction sites, nurses… These are all trades that can bring in over $50,000 per year and for which job prospects for the coming years are favourable because of vacancies that will be opening up on the market.
During Hooked on School Days, we should remember that school retention pays off both for society and the individual. While there are many reasons why young people drop out of school, studies show that ongoing encouragement has a greater influence on a child’s plans for education than the child’s economic situation. Every young person needs daily encouragement.
Perseverance is one of the best guarantees of a prosperous society, so this week, I encourage parents, friends, advisors and opinion leaders to place value on education and encourage a young person every day – whether their own child or someone else’s. And when we encounter a young person who is discouraged and at risk of dropping out of school, more of us should suggest trades. Our individual and collective future depends on it.