Alberta Boosts Career Education Opportunities In Schools

Dec 27, 2023 - one year ago

Alberta’s government is expanding dual credit programming for students to explore career paths and make meaningful transitions into post-secondary education, trade designations, or the workplace.

Alberta Boosts Career Education Opportunities In Schools — Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides toured St. John Paul II Catholic School in Grande Prairie on Oct. 24. The school received a dual credit grant of $100,000 that will support its fabrication (welding) lab.

Career-based programming better prepares students for the jobs they want and supports job creators with the skilled workers they need. To support students transitioning to post-secondary education or the workplace, Alberta Education is investing more than $3.6 million in dual credit grants to school authorities across the province for the 2023-24 school year.

“Alberta Education is committed to empowering students to pursue various career paths to support success inside and outside the classroom,” stated Demetrios Nicolaides, Minister of Education. “Through dual credit programs, students can transition seamlessly into their next opportunity, whether it is post-secondary education, trade designations or various workplaces. Enhancing these opportunities is essential to encouraging high school completion and building a skilled, educated and engaged workforce to support Alberta’s growing economy.”

Dual credit courses are career-based courses in grades 10, 11 and 12, where students can earn both high school credits and credits that count toward a post-secondary certificate, diploma or degree. Forty-seven school authorities across Alberta will receive a grant for the 2023-24 school year of up to $50,000 to create new dual credit opportunities and/or up to $100,000 to enhance existing dual credit courses.

New or enhanced dual credit opportunities in Alberta schools include carpentry and welding apprenticeships and training in artificial intelligence, medical and health technologies, and agriculture technology.

In total, Alberta Education is distributing 45 dual credit start-up grants and 16 dual credit enhancement grants for the 2023-24 school year to the 47 school authorities. School authorities can use the grants to deliver dual credit programming in the current school year and can carry over any unused funds into the 2024-25 school year.

“It was truly exciting for Minister Nicolaides to visit St. John Paul II Catholic High School,” said Roger Lauck, director of teaching and learning, Grande Prairie and District Catholic Schools. “It was great we had the chance to showcase our welding apprenticeship class, where the minister could see first-hand the positive impact the provincial dual credit enhancement grant is making for our students.”

Quick facts

For the 2023-24 school year, Alberta Education is providing $2.1 million in dual credit start-up grants and $1.5 million in dual credit enhancement grants.
Between 2013 and 2023, approximately 83,000 high school students participated in at least one dual credit course.

Source: Province of Alberta