For young people, the skilled trades may not be the first thing that comes to mind when they turn on the TV in the morning or after school.
But a TVOkids show is looking to change that.
An unscripted series called Trading Skills is highlighting skilled tradespeople and exposing youth to different careers. It is geared towards six to nine-year-olds.
Canada is currently experiencing a growing labour shortage and one of the goals of the show is to shine a spotlight on the trades, Kirsten Hurd, commissioning editor with TVOkids, told the Daily Commercial News.
“I want Ontario kids to know that there is this a wide range of careers that may not get presented to them when they are in middle school or high school as they’re starting to look towards their career path,” said Hurd.
“University is wonderful and lots of kids end up going to university and having great careers, but for a certain portion of the population that isn’t for them.
“They want to go and jump right into something that is working with their hands and on-the-job training and at the end possibly having a lucrative, long career.”
When I grow up…
TVOkids is affiliated with the Government of Ontario under the Ministry of Education.
Hurd said the provincial government has been doing a lot over the last few years to try to encourage young people to go into the trades.
“We know there is going to be a lack of skilled workers, so why not get kids interested and help support the government’s mandate to encourage people to go into those fields,” Hurd stated.
When asked about how the idea for the show came about she said there was another show a few years ago with a similar premise produced by Riverbank Pictures.
“They did a show called ‘When I Grow Up!’ which was looking at careers in STEM,” recalled Hurd. “Each episode was a career in science or technology and basically a profile of that job.
“Because they had that experience, I thought well what if we took that concept and applied it to the skilled trades, specifically in Ontario, with the idea of a fun entertaining look at a bunch of different skilled trades but with some practical information. How long do you have to go to school to become an electrician? Or what is the apprentice period for a mechanic?”
They developed the concept and pitched it back to her.
“Then I was actually able to greenlight it and give it the go ahead for production at the end of November (2023),” said Hurd. “They spent the winter looking for what we’re calling ‘ambassadors’ for the trades.”
“Anybody can do anything”
The series will explore trades professions in three categories: traditional, such as plumbers, electricians and mechanics; new tech, such as electronic service technicians; and service such as hairstylists and chefs.
“We want to make sure we are presenting a wide range of options, not just the ones you traditionally think of,” Hurd noted.
They will be shooting 26 11-minute episodes in total and are hoping to launch the show in September or October of this year.
“It’s hosted by two young kids and basically in each episode they are in what we’re calling their workshop,” said Hurd. “They talk about the trade a little bit and then one of the kids will go out in the field and meet the trade ambassador, explore what that trade looks like and then come back and bring their learnings back.”
Wherever possible the hosts are going out in the field and meeting people where they work, she added.
“We’re taking safety very seriously,” she said. “For example, they did an episode on a woman who is an incredible ironworker and what they did instead of actually going onsite which can be very dangerous, they actually went to the facility where they train ironworkers, where there is obviously a lot of opportunity to do some hands-on experimenting and playing around but within a very safe and controlled environment.”
That ironworker was Jamie McMillan, founder of Made in the Trades. In a LinkedIn post in March, McMillan wrote: “So impressed by 13-year-old host Akeylah – who absolutely blew me away with her talent and radiant enthusiasm. What a great day filming the episode.”
Ambassadors wanted
They are looking for a wide range of ambassadors, Hurd said.
“We want to find people that are incredibly passionate, speak with a lot of knowledge about their trades and ideally are also comfortable on camera,” she said.
“They’re often looking for people that would consider themselves or are influencers in that space, people that have a social media following where they promote their trade.
“We’re hoping to tap into people that have a following to help us spread the news about the show. We’re looking for people from diverse backgrounds. We’re trying to find some Indigenous tradespeople, some women that maybe are working in non-traditional fields just to show that anybody can do anything.”
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