Chris Taylor speaks enthusiastically about his time at Camosun: “It’s a great college, I really like it. I’ve met a lot of friends here and I love to expand my horizons.”

As a local Indigenous student from the Beecher Bay band in Sooke, he appreciated the opportunity to learn invaluable skills and advance his career locally. “It’s the comfort of home,” he says. “I wanted to stay around here and Camosun had what I was looking for.”

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One of the benefits of the program was the opportunity to get hands-on work experience with a local firm. “I did a week’s worth of work down at the Esquimalt graving dock. As a pipefitter, I was working with sprinkler systems. But the best part was that everyone got a chance to do multiple activities and see what they really wanted to do. I knew that I wanted to do pipefitting so I helped out pipefitting the whole week.”

Since taking the program, he has landed a full time position at Ellis Recycling—part of the Ralmax Group of companies. “I know Ralmax is a great company to work for, so I’m willing to put in the time this summer to show them what I’m made off and hopefully be working down there this winter.”

Looking forward, Taylor expects to continue to work hard with the support of Camosun: “I’m going to finish up my apprenticeship, and work hard to get the hours I need over the winter. I’ll be back here every few months to finish it up and hopefully, I can get my career rolling after that.”

He notes that the intense, hands-on learning provided by his pipefitting instructors provided him with the confidence “to go out and find work and get the job done.”

Read more B.C. post-secondary student success stories.