Painting simulators point students toward career opportunity
In a high school shop, a young man holds a paint gun, sweeping it slowly and steadily through the air. It’s pointed at nothing; it sprays nothing. But it’s part of the future of a skilled trade that’s essential to Alberta.
In January, NAIT’s Auto Body Technician program donated two painting simulators to St. Joseph Catholic High School, home to Edmonton’s only high school auto body course. It’s the latest support in a long relationship during which the polytechnic has sent surplus paint, personal protective equipment and even vehicles, easing budget strain for a resource-intensive program.
The simulators – paint-free, virtual reality systems that show students’ progress on a monitor and track metrics such as application speed and amount – are models that precede recent replacements at NAIT.
The gifts may be generous but they’re also strategic. Cecile Bukmeier (class of ’15), Auto Body Technician chair and coordinator of the donation, sees St. Joseph as a feeder for the polytechnic’s program. The simulators are a technological hook.
“High school is when students are trying to make up their minds” about career paths, she says. “When they have the opportunity to try [a particular trade], they might really enjoy it and start to get interested in it. So it's really important to try to catch them when they're younger.”
As St. Joseph’s auto body instructor, Ryline Monkman (Auto Body Technician ’15) believes that effort has the potential to boost an industry. And, as a former St. Joseph’s auto body student himself, he’s convinced it has the power to change lives.
Showing a way
Monkman joined St. Joseph as an instructor three years ago. Previously, he’d been with Careers: The Next Generation, a not-for-profit that links industry with schools to help youth access meaningful employment. Monkman still sees himself as a connector.
“Part of my job here as well is to get students working,” he says. When one completes Grade 12, Monkman can reach out to an employer and vouch for their apprenticeship. “They have had booth time, they’ve spread body filler, they can pull dents, they can make patch panels.”
All that may start with getting that virtual feel for the trade.
Monkman never had that advantage. The 32-year-old describes himself as a troubled youth: left home at 14, became a father at 16, nearly dropped out of high school soon after. But a former instructor in the program Monkman now teaches pushed him to re-evaluate.
“He inspired me to get my life on track,” he says.
Monkman knows most of his students might not be in such a position. But, whether they’re trying the simulator at St. Joseph's open house or during visits from one of the Indigenous communities that periodically send students to explore the trade, Monkman knows they’re trying to figure out the way forward.
“I can be a mentor and a leader for the next generation of students,” he says. “Part of this is just showing these kids, ‘If I can do it, you can do it.’”
Today, Monkman is working to set the example, pursuing an education degree to continue building the auto body program at St. Joseph. “I'm a straight-A student right now,” he says, proudly.
Growing opportunities
Projections for auto body apprentices in the province are good, owing to retiring baby boomers. According to the Government of Alberta, salaries tend to be higher than average for trades, and the field is expected to grow more quickly than most.
Monkman hopes to help meet that need. In a year, about 150 students in Grades 10 through 12 will pass through the shop; if he’s able to attract even a handful that ultimately go on to NAIT, he’ll be happy.
“We don't know how big this web is going to spread,” he says.
Possibly, it may come to include the young man trying the paint simulator. His name is Dustin Monkman – Ryline’s 16-year-old son. He’s not yet settled on what he’d like to be one day. Dustin has never painted before but his scores on the simulator, where he covered a door and a bumper, are impressive.
At the very least, he knows he has options.