Learn about Pathways Vancouver & Surrey’s mentoring trips with BCIT to open doors to career opportunities in the trades.
For many high school students, the future after graduation can feel uncertain. Navigating increased independence, new environments, and weighty decisions can already feel challenging. But for students who struggle to fit into the traditional academic mould, the largest obstacle can be just visualizing what post-secondary life looks like.
That’s where Pathways Vancouver and Surrey step in with immersive career and post-secondary planning programming to help students reimagine what’s possible. “We work with such a diverse group of youth, so for many, high school is challenging just because of the rigid structure. It can feel like trying to fit a square peg into a round hole,” Pathways Surrey’s Associate Manager, Farrell Greczi, explains. “Being able to expose students to new options outside the traditional university path, like the trades, is huge.”
One way the team is opening the door to a whole other option for post-high school life is the mentoring trips they offer in partnership with the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT). These trips begin with a campus visit each fall to BCIT’s Big Info night, where students in Grades 10 to 12 get a firsthand look at what a hands-on, skills-based career in the trades can offer.
Accompanied by Pathways staff, students walk through each building focused on a particular trade, observing real-time training, meeting instructors, and engaging with advisors who specialize in everything from environmental sustainability and construction to trades discovery for women.
The Pathways Vancouver and Surrey teams work carefully to help youth craft the vision of where they want to go, and also colour in the path there. Youth Outreach Workers from both program locations will coordinate the logistics, helping youth navigate transit routes and campus layouts. For many students, it’s their first time seeing a post-secondary institution up close, and the familiarity gained through these visits helps dismantle the myth that higher education is out of reach.
The trips also play a crucial role in expanding perceptions. Within some newcomer populations that the program serves, careers in the trades aren’t commonly part of the conversation at home. With opportunities to see that the skilled trades can be both fulfilling and financially sustainable in Canada, students are now considering programs they hadn’t known existed.
With regular trips throughout the year, the impact is clear. Students who once felt disconnected from post-secondary paths are using their Pathways scholarship toward trade-specific training, and even pursuing certifications that lead directly into the workforce.
Like with all the career planning that Pathways Vancouver and Surrey offer, the goal is to make the future feel familiar. As Program Director, Silvana Guglielmetti, explains, “Some campuses are like a small city all in themselves, so it can feel really overwhelming. At Pathways Vancouver and Surrey, we organize things intentionally to help students see themselves anywhere they want to go. By making things more familiar, students can see that it’s accessible. It’s the thing that breaks barriers.”
