Students from around Kelowna stepped out of the classroom and into the workforce, on Wednesday.
As part of National Take Our Kids to Work Day, junior high school students spend the day in everything from the boots of a police officer, the hardhat of a construction worker to the bunker gear of a firefighter.
Those were just a few of the jobs that students were able to take part in as a way to understand the diverse career opportunities that are available to them in the future.
Teens that chose to work alongside the RCMP spent time with front line emergency response as well as forensics specialists.
Const. Lesley Smith, School Resource Officer explained that the day’s activities brought police work to life and gave the students a sense of what’s possible within the RCMP.
“Students were involved in a number of active police scenarios which required the use of the support services like Police Dog Services (PDS), the Forensic Identification Section (FIS) and many more RCMP resources.”
The full day’s schedule included scenarios, demonstrations and presentations from a variety of departments, including traffic services, general duty investigations, Police Dog Services, the Southeast District Tactical Team, the Southeast District Emergency Response Team (ERT) and emergency telecoms operators.
“Sworn-in” by the Detachment Commander, Supt. Brent Mundle, each student had the opportunity to investigate, identify and arrest a culprit. They also heard first hand, front line stories from seasoned police officers and had the chance to interact with the men and women of their local police force.
While at the Kelowna Fire Department Grade 9 students tried their hand at carrying a fire-hose, rappelling, climbing the truck’s ladder and even putting out a controlled burn.
Take Our Kids to Work Day happens annually on the first Wednesday of November.
@Jen_zee
jen.zielinski@bpdigital.ca
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