Yesterday morning, at an event at Centennial College's Progress Campus, 200 Toronto girls aged nine to 14 were given hands-on experience in a wide range of non-traditional jobs. Among other things, participants were given the chance to change tires on a Smart car, draw blood from a synthetic patient's arm, and learn about the inner workings of a helicopter.
It was all part of Centennial's first-ever Strong Girls, Strong Women Symposium, which is meant to educate young girls on the breadth of career options available and open to them.
"Strong Girls, Strong Women was the vision of Centennial College President Ann Buller," says Mark Toljagic, communications officer at Centennial College. "She wanted to do something to get young girls interested and engaged in potential career paths a little earlier than usual, that is, before high school. She wanted to demonstrate to them that all the doors are truly open to women to do anything they wish to, such as become an airline pilot, architect, or automobile technician."
Yesterday marked the official launch of Centennial College's Strong Girls, Stong Women program. But, adds Toljagic, it won't be the last.
"Centennial College intends to make this an annual event," he says.
"Today we had 16 participating schools. We expect it only to grow as the word gets around. We were actually oversubscribed today, so that was a good sign!"
Writer: Katia Snukal
Source: Mark Toljagic, Communications Officer, Centennial College