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By: Cody Sellar STAFF REPORTER
Posted: 1:48 PM CDT Friday, Apr. 8, 2022
THE MAPLES
THE MAPLES
Students seem to be signing up for trades classes at Maples Collegiate like never before, said Jeff Bilous, a culinary arts and hospitality services teacher.
Students in the Culinary Arts program roll up a dough.
“My numbers for registration at this point are unlike what they’ve been in previous years,” he said. “It’s telling me that there is a true push out there for people to get back into these jobs.”
Bilous recalled his own youth, during which he got the feeling that going through university was the only respectable option. But he said he’s glad to see more students once again exploring options in the trades.
Maples Collegiate (1330 Jefferson Ave.) is holding an open house on April 13 from 6:30 to 8 p.m. to exhibit its 14 vocational education programs.
The programs are available to grade 12 and post-grad students and include programs in health care, construction, culinary arts, plumbing, horticulture, early childhood education, sustainable energy and more.
Bilous said the courses not only help equip students with the skills they need to further pursue their chosen trade, but they also provide an opportunity to “get their foot in the door” of an employer.
“The thing that sets us apart from most other school divisions’ vocational programs is that we have a large internship component. Up to 80 per cent of our students’ time is actually spent in industry, at a worksite rather than in a classroom,” he said.
That allows students to truly understand the reality of a vocation, so they know exactly what they need to do to be successful, he said.
A student in the automotive program works on a car.
The school has partnered with many businesses for its internships. Students in aviation trades and technology classes have found themselves at companies such as Perimeter Aviation, an airline specializing in chartered and cargo flights to smaller communities in Manitoba and northwest Ontario. Automotive students have gotten their hands greasy at Gauthier Automotive Group dealerships, and health care students have forged their skills in the heat of various hospitals across the city.
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At the open house, each trade will have a former student at its booth to chat with prospective students about the course.
Culinary arts graduate Rain Calvit will be the “student ambassador” for Bilous’ booth. He’ll give interested people an overview of what he learned last year.
For culinary arts, that means starting out with safety lessons before moving on to the fun bits.
“We learn all the basics — making stocks, cutting skills, management. But the most important thing I learned was the importance of working clean … I apply these for my own work,” said Calvit, who currently works at the Promenade Cafe at The Forks.
Calvit said the class has sparked his desire to pursue culinary arts as an art and craft, with a focus on baking (he loves sourdough breads, in particular) and he plans on expanding his education to become a Red Seal chef.
Bilous didn’t have registration numbers for all 14 vocational programs, but at press time, he had 12 seats remaining.
Cody Sellar
Community Journalist
Cody Sellar is the reporter/photographer for The Times. He is a lifelong Winnipegger. He is a journalist, writer, sleuth, sloth, reader of books and lover of terse biographies. Email him at [email protected] or call him at 204-697-7206.
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