If you know, you know: career guidance at WCS

With a new semester comes some new challenges, especially for those who will soon be graduating, to ensure they fulfill their desired prerequisites for post-secondary studies.

Trent Whippler, Career Development Counsellor at Weyburn Comprehensive School, said the Student Services office has been busy helping with class changes for those who know what classes will have a bearing on their future.

"It's been a very busy week, but we're starting to settle a little bit more now. Now it's on to scholarships," he noted.

He said that there is always someone in Student Services, as he and Nicole Blackburn are always around, and they try to meet with each student in the school twice a year.

But do all soon-to-be-graduates know what they want to do for their post-secondary and career paths? According to Whippler, for every student who does, there is one who is not quite so sure.

"It's not unusual to have people say, 'I'm not quite sure what I want to do yet'," he noted. "There's so much out there. Sometimes it can be intimidating, I think, for students. There are so many different paths that you can take. That's part of what we do as well, is try and narrow that down and get people thinking, then pointed in their direction they're interested in."

For those who require more self-reflection to determine their course of action, the Southeast Cornerstone Public School division has a program called 'My Blueprint', which is a sort of aptitude test to assess likes and dislikes, and strengths and weaknesses.

"It kind of points them in that direction. It's nothing too formal. And if someone asks for it, we do have some career aptitude tests. Some of them are free, and there is one that we pay for, and they get a little bit more down to the nitty gritty to help people if they are not sure what they want to do."

Each November, the school also holds a type of job fair. Every other year, it's a bigger event. 

"We had the last one in November, and that was kind of a trade show set up. We had the gym full of booths and from as many different employers and post-secondary institutions as we can gather," Whippler explained. "Then this coming early November, we'll have our full Career Day, where we bus in the students from the surrounding schools, and there are sessions and classes where people can listen to representatives from universities, from trade schools, or local oil companies and businesses and such like that, and see what it's like to do a particular job."

Whether a student knows their career path or wants to take some time to work on finding their passion, the Student Services office at WCS is the place to go to find the resources and tools to hone in on what the future may have to offer.

A virtual Scholarship Information meeting is being held tonight for students and parents of WCS, including homeschoolers, who sometimes access the school for Phys Ed and music classes. Read more HERE. 

The Student Services office at Weyburn Comprehensive School is located just past the main office off of Colleen Weimer Hall.