May 12, 2009

Toronto District School Board votes to close Timothy Eaton trade school

Carpenters’ Local Union 27 laments possible loss of WoodLINKS program

VINCE VERSACE

staff writer

A decision to close the root feeder school for Toronto area public high school students pursuing a career in carpentry is a disappointing development, says the local carpenters union.

The Toronto District School Board (TDSB) recently voted to close Timothy Eaton Business and Technical Institute in Scarborough because of falling enrolment.

“We have been working with the program at Timothy Eaton for quite a while now and have refined it and made it more specific to our industry needs,” says Christina Selva, director of training Carpenters’ Local Union 27 Joint Apprenticeship and Training Trust Fund.

“We hope something will be done with the program there, because you do not want to reinvent the wheel.”

The WoodLINKS program at Timothy Eaton feeds approximately 25 Toronto public high school students a year into the Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program (OYAP), a partner of the Local 27 Training Trust Fund.

The Grade 11 or Grade 12 students come from across the public board to participate in the specialized trades education at Timothy Eaton. This program allows them to start working on post-secondary apprenticeship qualifications right away.

Students in their graduating year of high school are eligible to enroll in a general carpentry apprenticeship program, while still attending high school, through OYAP. The Local 27 Training Trust Fund has had an OYAP partnership with the TDSB for eight years now.

Enrolment had fallen at Timothy Eaton to just 213 students, leaving the school at less than one-third capacity. Some supporters of the school claimed that a growing disrespect for hands-on learning and the trades and lack of proper marketing contributed to the school’s demise.

The school has a $1 million state-of-the-art woodworking classroom, donated by private industry.

It also houses industrial kitchens for teaching baking and cooking, a drywall shop and plumbing equipment.

“It has been an incredible link and we would hate to see that continuity lost, for the students from there, who would enter into the OYAP program, it was a seamless transition,” notes Selva. “We have had a close working relationship with them and we hate to see that lost.”

The Local 27 Training Trust Fund also has OYAP partnerships with the Toronto Catholic District School Board, York Catholic District School Board, Durham District School Board and the Durham Catholic District School Board. There are between 80 to 85 Grade 12 students that enter the OYAP program every year.

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