By Hugh Kruzel | The Sudbury Star
Talent and occupations in the trades are the focus of a new series for kids. Sudbury gets some great exposure on the new TVOKids program, Trading Skills, which begins airing on Tuesday. The series is crafted specifically for young viewers.
The target audience for this series is Gen Alpha — those born since 2010 — and the focus is addressing a 700,000-person gap in the country’s skilled workforce. Workers retiring in the next few years leave important vacancies to fill. But it’s more than just about filling spots.
The 26 episodes give kids a sneak peek into the vibrant and rewarding world of skilled trade jobs that maybe they could consider for their own future careers.
“Recognizing the ongoing discussions about the skills gap in Ontario and beyond, we wanted to create a series that showcases the fantastic opportunities available in the skilled trades,” says Kirsten Hurd, commissioning editor at TVOKids. “We hope it inspires kids to explore careers they may not even know about.”
Hurd finds people who can build quality content for the public broadcaster. TVO has a 13-hour block of time for kids every day. “We take a show from an idea on a page to a finished product,” Hurd says. “We use Canadian companies and we are partially funded by the province of Ontario under the Ministry of Education.”
TVO’s mandate “is always education first,” she adds. “Of course, we want to make kids laugh and have fun. The underlying idea is that all of our content has to have some piece of the Ontario curriculum at its core.”
In their upper grades, “kids start to think about what they are going to do for their careers and how to further their education,” she notes.
There is a push by government to encourage young people to go into the vocations that build and support all the other activities across the economy.
“It is the right time to do a show that focused on the skilled trades, our goal is to open kids’ eyes,” says Hurd. “A lot of these jobs can be really exciting and many say no two days are ever the same. Before this, we paid a lot of attention to STEM.”
STEM — science, technology, engineering and math — is important, but welding, plumbing and construction are fundamental.
“I think we could talk about 126 professions and not have touched them all,” laughs Hurd. “If we had unlimited funds, it would be great to do that.”
Riverbank Pictures filmed the series at locales across Ontario to shine a light on the province and its diverse skilled tradespeople. Beyond Sudbury, locations include the Greater Toronto Area, Vaughan, Hamilton, Waterdown, the Niagara region, Caledon, the Kitchener area and Collingwood.
Hosts Akeyah James and Brody Agmon introduce viewers to a new skilled trade in every episode. Meeting passionate tradespeople gives viewers an inside look at their expertise. The series includes an electrician, an ironworker, a goldsmith, a horticulturist, mining millwright, welder, a dairy worker, construction craft worker, chef, hairstylist and an arborist.
All are jobs that could keep you employed for a lifetime. There is dialogue on apprenticeship and earn-as-you-learn opportunities.
In episode 5, James heads to Sudbury to meet with Tammy Maki, a renowned Indigenous pastry chef/baker-patissier. Chef Tammy shows James how to melt chocolate and make her own custom chocolate bar that she gets to decorate with colourful paints.
Back in Sudbury, Kendra Liinamaa talks about her education and work as a millwright.
“I didn’t know exactly wanted to do out of high school,” Liinamaa says. “In Canada less than five per cent of millwrights are women. I have been promoting women in trades for years.
“In my job, I fix things and make them work again. Realistically, it is always about getting production done right. It is such interesting work, so varied.”
The series also demonstrates that gender is not an issue in any profession.
One episode presents auto service technician Nhu Nguyen. She is the only female in the world with a Porsche Classic certification. Ironworker Jamie McMillan entered the workforce in 2002 when women only represented two per cent of the trade workforce across Canada and the United States.
“Trading Skills aims to open up the world of skilled trades to kids aged six to nine so they can learn about different jobs, appreciate their great benefits and be inspired to consider one of them as a career path for themselves,” says producer Francis Mitchell.
“It’s a big trade skills world out there and we wanted to open that door a little more for kids. We put on PPE (personal protective equipment) and talk about safety, too.”
Mitchell says the show is “fun and engaging, that’s what we wanted to achieve. We wanted to find inspiring young people who love their profession. Really, this program could travel to international markets because this is not just a challenge and an opportunity here alone. I am so excited about the launch.”
They have not finished the series, with about six more shows heading to production and editing.
Streaming of Trading Skills across Canada starts Tuesday, Oct. 15 at 11 a.m. ET on TVOKids.
The series has its broadcast premiere on Tuesday, Oct. 15, at 4:05 p.m. ET on TVO.
