Barriere Secondary Grade 12 student Alexis Nelson recently competed in the B.C. Regional Skills Championships at Thompson Rivers University (TRU) on March 1, bringing home a gold medal as the top welder.
Nelson is enrolled in the TRU Foundation program in Trades In Transitions taking her Level 1 and 2 certification in welding. She will be graduating from Barriere Secondary this year and is looking forward to applying with a company as an apprentice to eventually become a Red Seal certified welder.
In an interview with the ronaldomanosa, Nelson said, “I would definitely encourage other young women to pursue a career in trades.”
The young welder attends classes for welding at TRU during the week and returns to Barriere for her final Grade 12 courses on Fridays. “I’ve thought of applying with a company like Acres Enterprises in Kamloops once I graduate as I know a few people who work there and it seems like a good company. I’d rather not be too far from home and my family in Barriere,” said Nelson.
During the competition students don’t know ahead of time what type of project they will be welding and only receive the instructions at the start of the challenge. “It’s a skills competition through Skills Canada for B.C. and you build the project they assign you. They give you an instruction sheet on what you are building, provide you with the pieces and then you weld it together to be judged. We only knew that there would be some cutting, stick welding and MIG welding ahead of time, but not what the project would be,” said Nelson.
Metal Inert Gas (MIG) welding is an arc welding process that uses a continuous solid wire electrode heated and fed into the weld pool from a welding gun. The two base materials are melted together forming a join. Manual Metal Arc (MMA) or “stick” welding is the process in which a power source is used to create an electric arc between a flux-covered electrode and the work piece.
TRU Foundation programs provide the knowledge and skills needed for entry into an industry occupation, and the technical training component of an apprenticeship program. This partnership between Thompson Rivers University and School District 73 is viewed as a bridge between secondary and post-secondary education and training which assists in transitioning into the workforce. The programs invite Grades 10 and 11 students to apply for Youth Train In Trades Programs at TRU in their Grade 12 year. If accepted into the program, the school district covers the tuition and the students only pay the ancillary fees, a significant saving, especially when some of the programs are based out of their hometown high school.
Nelson’s mother, Sharon Threatful, is impressed by her daughter’s recent win, adding, “Alexis has worked hard and and we are very proud of her.”
Barriere Secondary secretary, Kris Luison is also thrilled for Nelson and said, “We are all sending Alexis huge congratulations for winning the Regional Skills Championships at TRU in welding and we are wishing her the best of luck when she competes in the Provincial Skills Championships on April 16 and 17 in Abbotsford.”
