Alberta’s collegiate model is giving students an earlier, more hands-on look at career pathways, and helping employers build the skilled workforce they need.

David Pye, Dean of the School of Trades and Technology at Red Deer Polytechnic, joins Stacey and Jacquie to explain how collegiates bring K–12 schools, post-secondary institutions and industry together. They explore how the Central Alberta Collegiate Institute is helping students test-drive the skilled trades, build confidence and move into apprenticeship with a clearer sense of where they want to go.

David also challenges old assumptions about trades careers, explains how apprenticeship credentials can open doors well beyond the jobsite, and shares why giving young people permission to explore, and even fail, can help them find the right path.

Chapters

00:00 What Is a Collegiate?

02:05 Building the Central Alberta Collegiate

03:06 Beyond the High School Shop Class

05:10 Building the Skilled Trades Pipeline

06:49 Bringing Industry into the Classroom

09:47 Changing Parents’ Perceptions of the Trades

12:58 Where a Trades Career Can Lead

14:42 Why David Is Passionate About Trades Education

16:44 From High School to WorldSkills

20:02 What Collegiate Could Mean for Alberta

22:00 Advice to David’s Younger Self

23:14 Would You Rather?

Red Deer Polytechnic

Red Deer Polytechnic Dual Credit programs

Central Alberta Collegiate Institute – RDP overview

Hosts: Stacey Allan and Jacquie Daniels

Executive Producer: Ann Normand