Career Education means exploring and learning to manage one's pathway through life, including work. Exploring various careers is important, rewarding, and exciting, but ... sometimes confusing. EIPS helps smooth the process by giving students encouragement, advice, and practical experiences as they explore their goals and opportunities for the future. EIPS has built the process of career planning into many of its curricular and extracurricular programs. Career concepts are integrated within all courses, as appropriate.

Programs and events available to our students as they move through elementary, junior high, and senior high school may include:

Your Future: It's a Matter of Choice Career Fair - An annual information evening with post-secondary institutions, strives to assist students and parents with planning for life after high school.

Student Skills Portfolios - Business and education initiative that sponsors a portfolio binder for students' skills and accomplishments. The Sherwood Park and District Chamber of Commerce also hosts an annual Student Skills Portfolio Breakfast to raise money for this program.

Work Experience, Green Certificate and Off Campus Education - Students actively participate in the world of work and receive High School credit at the same time.  If you are a student who is working during the summer, or during the school year, check this out, you can arrange your high school schedule to make time for work. Off Campus Education also includes:

• Job Shadowing - Students spending a portion of one day experiencing a specific work role in the workplace.
• The Green Certificate Program - Do you love being outdoors planting crops on the farm or working with horses and other livestock, turn this into part of your high school programming and earn credit for your high school diploma. The hands on style of delivery ensures that participants learn through actively performing the skills required. This means going out into the barn, or field or corrals and getting dirty.
• The Registered Apprenticeship Program (RAP) is a way for registered high school students to become apprentices, and earn credits toward an apprenticeship program and a high school diploma at the same time.

Skills Canada and Skills Alberta - Trade and technology-based skills competitions. This is a chance for students in CTS and our RAP programs to shine, bricklaying to cake making, IT, Web pages, CNC Machining to Landscaping, Hairstyles and Fashion, there is something for everyone.

The Career and Technology Foundations for Junior High and Career and Technology Studies Program (CTS) for Senior High helps students to develop skills they can apply in daily living now and in the future, investigate career options and make effective career choices, use technology, or find a hobby.  There are a great number of great courses to try, from mechanics, to hairstyling, computer programming to wildlife and more.  Each school custom designs their CTS course offering based on equipment, teacher training and student interest. Please contact your school for more information on this area.

Take Our Kids to Work - Federal and Provincial initiative to have Junior High students job shadow a parent's work role.

Young Authors' Conference - for students in grades 4-9. This is a chance for our young authors to shine, its a chance to network, get new ideas, listen to great stories, tell a great story and showcase your writing talent.

Young Scientists Conference - Sponsored by Agrium and hosted by the University of Alberta, the conference provides the opportunity for students from Elk Island Public Schools, Sturgeon School Division, and Elk Island Catholic Schools to investigate real-world applications in the field of science. 
 

If you would like more information about the above mentioned programs and events, please phone 780-417-8246 or send an email to Supports for Students, Instructional Supports via the contact form.