High school students in shop classes in the 1970s, or even in the 1960s, likely used the same equipment the high school students up and down the corridor are using today – in 2014.
Squamish’s Howe Sound Secondary shop classes are in need of about $295,000 worth of equipment upgrades in order to somewhat resemble industry standards, according to Vicki Schenk, who taught woodwork and metalwork for seven years at Howe Sound and now oversees career planning in the corridor.
The list of equipment that needs replacing is more than 100 items long and includes such things as a $3,500 band saw, a $1,500 pedestal grinder and a $2,700 thickness sander. The list also includes less expensive items such as ladders and screwdrivers.
Schenk is hoping businesses in the trades will step up and offer to donate either used equipment or funds to buy new equipment.
“Some companies do upgrade and their old stuff is many, many upgrades better than what we have,” she said.
Schenk said having shop classes use such out-of-date essentials flies in the face of the economic past and possible future of Squamish, which is positioning itself to become a place of industry.
“If industry moves ahead in Squamish, we need to be prepared for that,” she said, adding that even if local students leave the community for jobs in the trades, they need to be ready.
“I want our kids to be aligned and prepared for those positions.”
Brandon Murray, 16, is in Grade 11 at Howe Sound Secondary and has taken metalwork classes for the past two years. He won gold in welding at the Regional Skills Canada competition in March.
He said the tools are dated.
“It is an old shop, so it has got a lot of old tools in it and most of the tools have been not taken care off, so they don’t work as well,” he said.
Murray said he has worked in professional metal fabrication shops and said modern equipment is nothing like what’s in the shop at the school.
“If any kids want to go through high school and go to shop class, it is better to have the newer equipment. You don’t want to show up in a [real] shop and not know what to do,” he said.
Murray also said he thinks more students would be interested in the trades if the shops at the school were in better condition. A lot more projects would get done over the semester too, because less time would be wasted on old or broken machinery. “It is easier to use newer tools,” he said.
Murray said he much prefers hands-on skills training to academic work.
“I like building things and trying to figure out how to do things and working with machinery,” he said, adding he hopes to be a heavy-duty mechanic someday.
Schenk said that in addition to preparing students for jobs, having up-to-date shops would entice more students like Murray.
“I think we have great students here who have great goals,” she said.
Schenk also questioned the priorities she sees in education funding.
“I don’t know how many times we have replaced the computer labs, and granted the technology changes so fast there… but you know, we are looking at equipment [in the shops] from the ‘60s and ‘70s right now,” she said.
“The focus never becomes, ‘Well, let’s replace all the equipment.’”
The School District 48’s operating grant has increased by 32 per cent since 2000-01, while per pupil funding for the district has increased by 36 per cent, according to the B.C. Ministry of Education.
“Boards can use the annual operating grant at its discretion to purchase equipment and supplies for schools,” read an email from the ministry sent to The Squamish Chief.
The school district has tried to address the issue within its budget, Schenk said. The school board has committed to contributing $50,000 a year to schools in the district to help upgrade trades classes, she said. Another $20,000 in funds from the province has been set aside for tech supplies such as toolkits and the Industry Training Authority has just announced $20,000 to go towards apprenticeships for high school students in the district, but given the huge need in all the schools in the corridor, it is a drop in the bucket, if a welcome one, said Schenk. “The need is way greater than chipping away at it.”
Schenk said her list of items needed includes only replacing what is already in the shop, but there is so much more the high school could be offering Squamish youth.
Some post-secondary trade training schools outside of Squamish have four-year waitlists for programs such as electrician training or welding.
“Could we offer a program here? Absolutely. Do we have the equipment? No,” she said.
“We have been hearing so much in the government about the skilled labour shortages and stuff, so that adds to the need, I guess, being able to prepare students,” she said.
In addition, sponsors are needed to take kids on for apprentice programs that the school does offer, she said.
For more information on helping out Howe Sound’s shop classes, contact Schenk at her email: VSchenk@sd48.bc.ca.
Shop items needed Howe Sound Secondary Goal: $295,550
Bandsaw: $3,500
Pedestal grinder: $1,500
Thickness sander: $2,700
Thickness sander: $2,700
Bandsaw $3,500
Wood lathes (5) $1,000
Table saw $3,500
Spindle sander $800
CNC router $25,000
Thickness sander $2,700
Tables (4) $1,200
Vises (8) $500
Routers (3) $300
Forstner drill bit set $150
Chisel sets (3) $450
Lathe chisel sets (5) $800
Live centres (5) $600
Spur drives (5) $300
Dado sets (2) $200
Drills – cordless, woodwork (5) $600
Mitre saws (5) $4,500
Paslode’s (2) $1,300
Ladders – 8′ (2) $600
Wheelbarrows (2) $400
Drills – cordless, carpentry (6) $700
Skill saws (10) $1,500
Hilti’s (2) $600
Horizontal bandsaw $3,000
Vertical bandsaw $3,500
Pedestal grinder $1,500
Beverly shear $600
Slip roller $750
Forge $3,500
Burnout kiln $1,200
Buffer $700
Metal lathes (2) $25,000
Stick welder $800
Box & pan brake $1,200
TIG welder $4,500
MIG Welder $3,000
Surface grinder $7,000
Cut-off saw $1,200
DiAcro bender $6,500
CNC Plasma cutter $39,000
Sandblast cabinet $2,500
5 Live centres lathe (5) $750
Jacobs Chuck lathes (5) $750
Tool holders lathes (5) $600
Boring bars (5) $600
Parting tools lathes (5) $600
Knurling tools (5) $1,000
Carbide inserts $1,000
Facing mill with inserts $500
V-block s $500
Parallels $250
Surface plate $1,500
Aviation shears $250
Vise grips $400
C-clamps $400
Scribers $100
Centre punches $75
Hex key sets $75
Wrench set Imperial $100
Wrench set metric $100
Screwdrivers $75
Ball Peen hammers $400
Machinist squares $150
Side cutters $200
Lineman’s pliers $200
Needlenose pliers $200
Strikers $50
Welding helmets $750
Welding goggles $200
Tap & die set $400
Drill bit set letter $150
Drill bit set number $150
Drill bit set metric $150
Drill bit set Imperial $150
Hacksaw frames $200
Hacksaw blades $100
HVLP sprayer $400
Cold chisel sets $75
Bolt cutters $125
Tape measures (20) $400
Socket set Imperial $150
Socket set metric $150
Deadblow hammer (2) $75
Digital calipers (12) $400
Digital micrometers (12) $400
Angle grinders (4) $600
Flex shaft tool $300
Computer pods $8,000
Design workstations $6,000
Large tables $6,000
Plotter $4,500
Soldering stations $3,000
Oscilliscope $600
Power supplies $4,000
3D printer $3,500
Side cutters $300
Wire strippers $300
Small pliers $300
Small screw drivers $300
Hoists (2) $6,500
Tire balancer $2,500
Tire mounting $2,500
All-data stations (2) $8,000
Tool cabinets $25,000
Brake lathe $6,500
Steam washer $3,500
Floor jacks (4) $400
Scan tools (2) $4,000
Wrench & socket sets (6) $15,000
Air ratchets (6) $600
Air impacts (6) $2,500
Impact socket sets (6) $750
Screwdriver sets (6) $600
Hex key sets (6) $150
Multimeters (12) $300
Creepers (6) $600
Torque wrenches (4) $600
C-Clamps $300
Vacuum bleeder $200
Flaring tool $150
Easy Out sets $300
Cordless impact $250
Air lines $250
Air hammer nits $400
Oil filter wrenches $150
Tap and die Set $450
