The answer will vary greatly when you ask most high school students what they plan to do when they graduate.
To help with that, Skills Canada NL brought about 30 Gonzaga students to the College of the North Atlantic this week.
Christine Greene is the local president of Skills Canada. She says it’s important to give the teens “hands-on, minds-on experience so they can find out about what’s out there.”
One of the things they focused on this year was the video game industry.
Grade 11 student Liam Bowes, who considers himself a gamer, says he has “no idea” what he will do when he graduates. But Bowes says like most people his age, he “feels pressure from all around” to figure it out.
As for staying here after high school, Bowes says it’s unlikely. “I’m outta here… because I want to see other parts of the world.”
Bowes is not alone with that sentiment. Three of the four students who spoke to VOCM’s Fred Hutton said they have no intention of staying in Newfoundland and Labrador after graduation.
Bethany Drover also has a plan that includes leaving. Facing graduation in June, she plans to move on after post-secondary. “I don’t see many opportunities for what I want to do and I want to see other places,” she said.
So, what is it like to be a high school student about to graduate in a province where so much attention has been put on how expensive it can be to live here? We put that question to grade eleven student Ravel Rajan.
“I feel pressure to figure it out” he told VOCM News. As for staying here, he said “I don’t think so, not because of the economy, but for exposure to other things.”
Of the four students we spoke with, the only person who said he might stay is Kyle Smith. The Grade 12 student moved to the province from Jamaica two years ago.
He says “I don’t mind staying here, it depends on the opportunity.”
In the end, that’s really what National Skilled Trades and Technology Week is all about—giving students a brief look at what opportunities are out there.