From measuring and building a bird house to checking under the hood of a car, a group of summer campers at Durham College (DC) got a chance to pick up practical life skills while exploring careers in the trades.

As part of the Skills Ontario Summer Camp, 18 campers were on site at DC’s Whitby campus from August 12 to 16.

Through the camp, kids entering Grades 7 to 9 get a chance to participate in hands-on activities relevant to the skilled trades while developing communication, problem-solving and teamwork skills.

On Thursday afternoon, they were in DC’s Motor Vehicle Shop.

“It’s been a pretty good day today, we did a couple of challenges and now I’m trying to check the air pressure on a car tire,” Spencer Hammill, 12, of Courtice said. “I’m actually going to be a cop when I’m older but I should also know this just in case anything happens.”

Spencer was attending his first Skills Ontario and said his favourite activity so far has been making a robot.

“It was really fun to move around, we could make it dance and do races.”

Alison Achtenberg, 13, of Oshawa took careful notes and measurements as she learned how to inspect a car. She’s enjoyed her week at camp.

“It’s just been really fun, all the people are really nice and I like a lot of the activities like yesterday we got to make a bird house,” she said. “We’re learning how to inspect a car, which I’ve never done before, which is interesting—like how to check the brakes, the oil, the tires.”

Homer Manlangit is a DC faculty member teaching in the Automotive Technician – Service and Management (Motive Power Technician) program. He said the campers came in with a lot of energy.

“They’re really excited about this department especially, when they came in the first thing they saw is the orange car behind me, it’s a Challenger, and they were all over it,” he said.

While kids couldn’t take the Challenger home, each of them got a chance to make a small solar and battery-powered toy car from a kit. They also got window into what a day in the life of a mechanic is like as they learned how to inspect a car.

“I think the importance of it is getting them engaged in what skilled trades are about, especially automotive,” said Manglangit. “Automotive can be a pathway to a lot of other skilled trades, you get a broad range of skills.”

Rebecca Milburn, Principal, Whitby campus and Executive Dean, Faculty of Skilled Trades & Apprenticeship, explained that the goal is to introduce youth to the skilled trades.

“By introducing youth to the skilled trades, we allow them to explore opportunities and build essential life skills,” she said. “They participate in hands-on experiences and can discover their passion, develop practical abilities, and consider viable career paths.”