Discovering a new skill or talent at any age is exciting but finding a passion for a skilled trade as a young person can spark a lifelong interest and even lead to a career!
Thanks to a new partnership between Mattamy Homes, the Calgary Board of Education (CBE) and SAIT's Youth Initiatives, 10 Calgary area high school students spent three months trying their hands at different skilled trades.
The first ever Exploratory Building Trades program ran from September to December 2025 and gave students the opportunity to explore theory-based and hands-on skills training. Every afternoon, Monday to Thursday, the program had three primary components and included a home office build project at SAIT, field trips to fabrication facilities and site visits to Mattamy Homes's Carrington community in northeast Calgary.
The group visits to build sites focused on key aspects of the construction process such as excavation and foundations, plumbing, ventilation and electrical installation, finishing carpentry, cabinetry and painting. On some visits students were able to try hands-on tasks like installing cabinets or trimming ventilation ducts.
Students also enjoyed field trips to local businesses, including Precision Robotics, Tech Wood and Kingswood Cabinets, where they saw the ins and outs of modern manufacturing of cabinets, roof, wall and floor frame systems.
Sessions held at SAIT were both theoretical and hands on and included the chance to apply their learnings by building a home office shed. Students rotated through various tasks involved in the build so they could all experience working on different aspects of the project.
By the end of the program, students had enjoyed three months of exciting afternoons outside their typical classroom environment, exploring new skills and career opportunities and gained up to eight high school credits.
SAIT's Youth Initiatives is dedicated to offering a variety of programs that aim to educate, empower and excite young minds. The Exploratory Building Trades program will be offered again in the future and will continue to increase student excitement and confidence about their academic and professional futures, as well as support the economic need for a strong skilled trades workforce in communities across Alberta.
