Rob Oldale remembers what it was like to be young, unemployed and on the outside looking in. He brings that insight to his role as Senior Coordinator for the BladeRunners youth training program, which has been delivered by NETP since 2007.
The BladeRunners program is funded under the Canada-British Columbia Labour Market Agreement. It was created in 1994 during the construction of General Motors Place (now Rogers Arena) in Vancouver to provide employment opportunities for inner-city “street-involved” youth.
Oldale said organizers realized that the program would require more than simple skills training, due to the nature of the clientele and the chaotic lifestyle many were involved in.
“The program targets youth-at-risk, to assist them to move from being marginalized, unemployed, and to become attached to meaningful employment,” he said, adding that, while the program is open to aboriginal and non-aboriginal youth (male and female), the majority in the classes are aboriginal.
The prime contractor for the program is an assets agreement holder called ACCESS, based in North Vancouver, he explained. ACCESS monitors the NETP delivery of the program for the province.
“We target youth, 19 to 30 – ‘unemployed youth with barriers to employment’ – in our service area, which is Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District and all 14 nations in the NTC,” Oldale said.
At its most basic level, BladeRunners provides skills training in recognized certification programs, such as Level 1 First Aid, Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS) and other occupational health and safety programs.
“We usually run 12 people at a time. We average four intakes a year, and the programs are three to five weeks long.”
The individual programs are designed to meet the needs of the local economy, Oldale explained. In a small market, it is difficult to place large numbers of trainees.
“The challenge, if you are a youth at risk, is that you do not always have the income or the supports in place to move out of your community.”
At BladeRunners, providing employment support – creating that “attachment to employment” – is just as critical as teaching the job skills, Oldale said. It is a huge transition to go from living on social assistance or with marginal employment to becoming a full-time member of the workforce, with regular hours and performance expectations.
“The greater challenge is not the training, but having the confidence and the readiness to survive the first couple of weeks of employment.”
Often, for marginalized youth, learning how to communicate within a workplace setting and how to work through those day-to-day challenges can be extremely difficult.
For that reason, BladeRunners puts a major focus on life skills training, on goal setting, time management and, Oldale explained, emphasizing the benefits of steady employment while breaking that past attachment to income assistance.
For each BladeRunners intake, NETP designs a course that targets a specific industry that has entry-level positions available. Oldale said the goal is to screen candidates to find those best suited for the specific training.
The program then brings in facilitators in a wide range of areas designed to empower the clients to acquire both the expertise and the confidence required to survive in the workplace.
For BladeRunners, teaching clients to celebrate their aboriginal heritage and culture is as critical as occupational health and safety certification.
“We provide the specific certifications that are desired by industry. In Forestry, for example, we have Forest Firefighter; in retail, Customer Service; in Marine, Boat Operator and VHS Radio certification.”
A recent Forestry training session in Gold River offered chainsaw training and firefighting, as well as related topics such as traffic control and basic safety training.
Oldale grew up in Port Alberni and freely shares his story with clients.
“I had my own experiences and struggles that have given me the skill set to work with marginalized youth,” he said.
He graduated from Alberni District Senior Secondary in 1984, spent some time in the Army Reserve, and then wound up in the Lower Mainland.
“I started washing cars at Dueck GM in Vancouver and worked my way up to service manager. I struggled, and I was on income assistance myself, at times.”
Along the way, Oldale relocated to the Sunshine Coast for 11 years, before moving back to his home town to take over as customer service manager at Dennis Jonsson Motor Products.
“After 20 years in the auto industry (2005), I went back to Vancouver Community College and got my Provincial Instructor Diploma in Adult Education. I started doing workshops that offered instruction to income assistance people.”
Part of the Instructor Diploma certification program focuses on curriculum development. After doing contract work for several training providers, Oldale was hired by NTC to run the BladeRunners program, to use both sides of his training.
“Once I started doing the work, I found I really enjoyed the one-on-one with clients in the classroom,” he said.
Oldale said his life lessons have not been lost on his own children. His son, 19, recently completed his electrician pre-apprenticeship at North Island College, and his 17-year-old daughter graduates from ADSS this year, with plans to attend the University of Victoria this fall.
“Throughout my own process, it just affirmed that, wherever there is a will, there is a way. So for me, the program is to empower participants to create the will to find the way.”
