​To cap off the school year, eight secondary students recently spent a week away from their regular schools to learn how to weld. The students were taking part in the BCIT Mind Over Metal program – a new weeklong partnership program with the North Vancouver School District. The goals of the program are to introduce students to the possibility of a career in welding and to acquaint them with a post-secondary school setting.

"Mind Over Metal proved to be a fantastic new initiative. We are really excited about the student engagement and see great potential for this partnership with BCIT to continue moving forward," said Jeremy Church, Principal, Mountainside/SmanitaXan Secondary School, North Vancouver School District.

The course focused on safety the first day, as well as a tour of BCIT (British Columbia Institute of Technology). Tuesday through Thursday, students learned various types of welding, including MIG welding, stick welding, arc welding and shield welding. On Friday, students worked on projects of their choosing using the welding mode they liked best.

"Over the course of the program, the students really got into welding and were very focused. It's the reason why we run these camps – to allow students to get a chance to dive into welding, for a few days, without distractions, and to get a taste of what it would be like to study welding at BCIT, or another trade," said Ann Martineau, Administrative Assistant, Corporate Training and Industry Services, School of Construction and the Environment, BCIT.

The week finished with a luncheon for students, BCIT staff and North Vancouver School District staff.

"BCIT was great with our students, providing them breakfast and lunch every day, and giving them certificates, safety gear, and BCIT swag and shirts at the end of the week. They even gave every student a USB drive with photos of themselves on the machines from the week," said Church.