By Erin Parks
A magazine designed to promote high-tech careers for Ottawa high school students seemed like a good idea to Industry Canada, but so far it doesn’t seem to be making a big splash in Centretown schools.
Thirty-thousand copies of the first edition of the magazine, called HiTech Careers for the 21st Century, were sent to both the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board (OCDSB) and the Ottawa-Carleton Catholic School Board (OCCSB). OCDSB communications officer, Paul Chislett, says the board distributed its allocation to area high schools in mid-October.
But staff at Lisgar Collegiate Institute and Immaculata High School aren’t certain if they’ve received the magazine.
“I don’t recognize it,” says Immaculata technology department head, Michel Fortin. “My background is with Industry Canada, so if something had come to me from them I would remember.”
Both Lisgar librarian, Catherine Fleming, and Immaculata librarian, Danielle Baillie, say they don’t remember this particular magazine. Baillie points out that free technology magazines go fairly quickly.
Chislett says the schools have probably received the magazines, but they receive so many different magazines and brochures they don’t remember any specifically.
Lisgar student Julia Stanfield does not remember the magazine either. But, she says, the magazine might be a useful tool. “I’m not at all interested in it.” she says, “But I think if you’re really interested in computers and stuff it would help you.”
Jan Caroleo, a manager for Skillnet.ca, the Internet recruitment arm of Industry Canada, says the magazine was designed to provide students with information on career chioces in the information technology (IT) sector.
“We wanted to see how we could help students understand what the IT sector is about, what jobs are available, and what skill and eduction they would need,” she says.
The magazine contains profiles of Canadians with successful careers in the IT sector and students in technology program co-ops, a cartoon IT hero, and articles about what’s new in the video-game business.
Caroleo says she hopes to take the magazine national, distributing it to high schools across Canada.