March 1, 2000

 

City Welcomes Students for Career Prep Program

The City of Vancouver will open up its doors from March 6 to 17 to give high school students a taste of the work world and the chance check out potential careers through the Partners at Work program.

Partners at Work is a joint venture between the City and the Vancouver School Board where Grade 11 and 12 students from local schools spend a week job shadowing and getting work experience in various City departments. With more than 8,000 employees, the City of Vancouver is one of the largest employers in the province and offers a wide array of job opportunities. Students are placed with departments according to their own areas of interest.

About 130 students will take part this year in a variety of placements that include:

• two aboriginal students at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre helping with preparations for the Candian Aboriginal Awards on March 10, an event that will be nationally televised at a later date.

• working onPortrait V2K, a millennium project that’s gathering stories and photos about Vancouver and its residents for a museum exhibit, Web site and possibly a book.

• going behind the scenes at Fire and Rescue

• learning about golf course maintenance with Park Board staff

• shadowing crews doing water and street works

• going out on inspections with property inspectors and animal control officers.

 

Partners at Work students are all taking Career Preparation courses which they combine regular school work with career-focused studies and 100 hours of work experience. They are not paid but receive course credit. This is the City’s fifth year participating in the program, which is part of its mandate to give youth a place and voice in the City, and to play a part in developing and educating tomorrow’s work force.

 

For more information:

Coralys Cuthbert	Carole MacFarlane
Social Planning 871-6044	Vancouver School Board 713-5051

 

 

 

[News Release Index]

---

Comments or questions? You can send us e-mail.

(c) 2000 City of Vancouver