From classroom to career: Chinook's Edge alumni inspire at CACI event

Three Chinook’s Edge graduates featured prominently in a recent event, showcasing the career readiness opportunities available for middle and high school students in Central Alberta. The Central Alberta Collegiate Institute (CACI) provided an information session at Red Deer Polytechnic on January 24, 2025 for municipal leaders and industry representatives. 

The event involved a panel of speakers who shared their experiences of skilled trades training while in Chinook’s Edge School Division. The panel featured three students, all of whom attended school in Chinook’s Edge and all are now graduated and continuing their skilled trades education with 
industry and at post-secondary institutions. 

Slade Bales, a graduate from Ecole Olds High School, is now apprenticing in heavy equipment 
technician training. Cabri Nesbitt, also a graduate from Ecole Olds High School, and Zaland Murad Ali, a graduate from H.J. Cody High School in Sylvan Lake, are now apprenticing in welding. 

Bales said, at the event, “Pre-employment programs while in high school made a huge difference for me in high school. It gives us a reason to attend school and do well in school, because no matter how much you push a kid, that kid’s not going to do any better if they just don’t want to do it. When you want to do something, it makes it way easier.”

“Pre-employment demands a level of professionalism. It hugely impacted the manner of how we talk to others and treat others, and especially showing up on time and our work ethic,” said Bales.

Bales adds pre-employment programs also helped him to want to complete high school. “I started to realize high school wasn’t something to just push my way through. It was something I could use to further myself.” 

Nesbitt said he appreciates the pre-employment opportunity because, “It just gave me a lot more real world experience. It gives you a rough idea of what to expect when you’re working.”

Murad Ali said, “We learned you have to show up on time and have certain expectations. Just 
like classwork - you’re given a task to do and you have to finish it in a certain time period. It 
was helpful.” 

“We are so proud of these students, and how well they spoke in front of government and industry leaders. They are good ambassadors for the value of career-related experiences that are available for students, through CACI,” says Brianne Fletcher, Chinook’s Edge Career Connections Coordinator.

CACI is a successful collaboration of four partnering school divisions (Red Deer Public Schools, Red Deer Catholic Regional School Division, Wolf Creek Public Schools and Chinook’s Edge School Division), two post-secondary institutions (Olds College of Agriculture & Technology and Red Deer Polytechnic and CAREERS , a not-for-profit organization that collaborates with schools to connect youth with employers, providing valuable paid internship opportunities.

CACI partners collaborate to develop multiple career readiness pathways for students, providing 
opportunities for exploration, skill development and career coaching to help students transition directly into skilled trades careers.