Friends and family gathered to share the excitement and recognize the accomplishments of 50 students who participated in the Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Programs (OYAP) from February until June 2011. Three OYAP programs were offered at Loyalist during this time: Automotive Service Technician (AST), Cook, and Early Childhood Educator. Students who successfully completed the AST or Cook program earned the Level 1 of their apprenticeship training with the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities (MTCU) and students who successfully completed the Early Childhood Educator OYAP program earned two modules toward their ECE Apprenticeship with the MTCU. A total of 18 different high schools were involved from ALCDSB, HPEDSB, KPRDSB, LDSB, PVNCCDSB and Sir James Whitney School.
The Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program (OYAP) is a School to Work program that opens the door for students to explore and work in apprenticeship occupations starting in Grade 11 or Grade 12 through the Cooperative Education program. Students have an opportunity to become registered apprentices and work toward becoming certified journeypersons in a skilled trade while completing their secondary school diplomas.
Savanna Morgan, Loyalist Coordinator, School College Work Initiative, praised the students for their achievements. "I am very proud of the hard work that all of our OYAP students put into their program and congratulate them on their success – 95.6% of participating students earned their Level 1 Apprenticeship or modules. The graduation ceremony was the perfect way to wrap up the three OYAP programs offered at Loyalist while celebrating the success of the students with their families, friends and teachers. Special congratulations to the top students in each program: AST- Jeff Cockins, Cook – Amelia Rutter and ECE – Cassie Clement. We look forward to continuing on this incredible partnership between Loyalist College, MTCU and our partner school boards for many years to come."
(Left) Savanna Morgan, Loyalist Coordinator, School College Work Initiative, recognizes Cassie Clement, top student in the OYAP Early Childhood Educator program.