For decades now, companies across Canada have been opening their doors to grade 9 students on what has become known as Take Our Kids to Work Day. This day is an annual event where children are given the opportunity to job-shadow their parents or another adult relative/family friend for a day. For many students, it is their first time seeing a workplace and it can be a very eye-opening experience. And while they may have a blast playing with the office dogs and meeting the CEO, there’s actually a lot more to this event than just seeing what their parents do in a day’s work.
From a very young age, children are exposed to the idea of going to work. They see their parents leave for work daily and hear them talk about their jobs at home. But despite this, there’s still a lot young people don’t know about the world of work and consequently, not necessarily having a full appreciation of what it entails.
Take Our Kids to Work Day allows parents to show their kids there is more to work than just clocking in and out or sitting at a desk. It is an opportunity to introduce children to potential future occupations and to help them better understand not only what their parents do, but why they do it. Take Our Kids to Work Day can give students an understanding of the importance of work and how hard work and dedication contributes to their community, not to mention the chance to expose our youth to the impact of important workplace concepts like professionalism, teamwork, and communication.
At HIEC, our vision is a future where every student achieves their full potential. We strive to bridge the gap between what’s being taught in schools and the skills it takes to succeed in the workforce, and for that we absolutely believe in the power of Take our Kids to Work Day.
This year, we celebrated Take Our Kids to Work Day by providing learning opportunities and workshops for students who were not able to job-shadow a working professional. The workshops focused on the topics of personalities, interests, skills and values and how each of these are intricately woven into workforce culture today. We are so pleased with the interaction and excitement that was seen from the 700 HCDSB & HDSB students who joined this event; the level of interest and involvement students showed was inspiring and is another reminder that when given the opportunity, youth in our communities want to participate and learn. For that, we thank everyone who came out and joined HIEC and made the day one that will be remembered. We already cannot wait for Take Our Kids to Work Day 2023!
“Take Our Kids to Work day is a remarkable event that allows students across the country to understand different workplace environments and sectors. This exposure to career development is critical for young people. As a previous Careers educator these days are very limited within the regular school year! One of HIEC’s sessions for this year’s celebration for Take Our Kids to Work Day included “Career awareness & volunteer exploration”. This session highlighted the importance of many successful pathways such as work, college, university, apprenticeships, gap years and of course the power of volunteering. Understanding the power of how days like TOKTW day shape a student’s future is key. Many people overlook volunteering as a successful pathway, however it allows one to better connect with the community and open up many doors for future success! We wanted young people to understand ways to access opportunities & it is never too early to start!”
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