2024
Annual
Report


At 16, Luciano started an apprenticeship through CAREERS and the Registered Apprenticeship Program, uncertain about his future. Today, he is co-owner of a successful general contracting business with his brother.
“I’m glad these programs are available in high school. They give students the confidence to take that first step towards a career they’re excited about. Nothing seems impossible anymore. The sky is the limit.”
Luciano Alvarez began his journey as an electrician apprentice with the City of Edmonton
APPRENTICESHIP TO INDUSTRY LEADER
25 years ago, a young Annie stepped onto the site of one of the world’s largest producers of synthetic crude oil. She was among the first participants of the CAREERS Co-op Apprenticeship Program.
“It was really intimidating, going into the heart of extraction, the piping, the noise, and the steam. I remember thinking that I had this amazing opportunity, and I was going to work really hard and find my way.”
And that’s exactly what she did, despite having no previous experience.
“When I signed up and became a Millwright Technician, I didn’t really know what a Millwright was, but I knew I could learn something. If you approach it with that kind of fearlessness, you will be successful. It didn’t take long to realize that I could successfully contribute.
There are always opportunities for somebody who’s not quite as big or strong to fit into this industry because there are so many different aspects to the work that we’re doing.”
From humble beginnings to a long successful career. Over the past two decades her journey has progressed from apprenticeship to Millwright Technician, leading to various management roles, and ultimately a director position where she now helps to shape the future of the company.
“I love my job. I couldn’t do it without having all the experiences of my career. Now I have a role that brings me so much excitement and contentment. I’m really in the ultimate happy place. There’s no limit to what you can do with a trade once you get that certificate and enter this industry.”
ANNIE LAWLEY
Director, Syncrude operated by Suncor
A record-breaking 945 graduates received the High School Apprenticeship Scholarship in 2024. On behalf of the Alberta Government, CAREERS hosted a special evening FILLED WITH inspiration, celebration and entertainment in their honour.
OUR STRATEGIC PRIORITIES
- EMPLOYER ENGAGEMENT
- YOUTH PARTICIPATION
- FISCAL + ORGANIZATIONAL SUSTAINABILITY
- COMMUNITY REACH
Internships 2020-2024

THE 2024 CAREERS TEAM
CAREERS works with so many remarkable student interns, employer mentors, educators and champions. We love to highlight their accomplishments through the CAREERS Awards of Excellence,
which also provides student recipients with a $500 scholarship.
Here are last year’s winners of CAREERS’ most prestigious awards:
John Aldred Ambassadorship Award | Dwayne Tilley
Named after a respected role model and ambassador for CAREERS, this award honors an individual who has worked closely with our team to demonstrate outstanding advocacy for skilled trades education.
James Carter Indigenous Leader Award | Dave Tuccaro
This award, named after CAREERS’ board chair and co-founder, recognizes a long-time CAREERS supporter and champion for Indigenous youth.
Eric P. Newell Award of Excellence | Mel Svendsen
The top honor, named after one of CAREERS’ co-founders, celebrates a true champion of CAREERS’ vision and mission who exemplifies outstanding leadership.
See all recipients and video stories at careersnextgen.ca/awards

SAVE THE DATE July 3, 2025
Heritage Pointe Golf Club, Calgary
As CAREERS enters a new era of leadership, we are inspired by the remarkable achievements of this past year and energized by the opportunities on the horizon. It has been an unprecedented year for us and our school partners, with over 4,500 internships facilitated across Alberta—an all-time high in our organization’s history. We are grateful to the educators, employers, and partners who have helped our team reach this milestone. Together, we are transforming Alberta’s workforce and guiding thousands of young Albertans toward fulfilling, high-demand careers.
Our success is built on maintaining a strong alignment with industry, enabling us to create real-world opportunities for Alberta’s youth in career fields that are both in high demand today and critical for the future. This includes sectors like the skilled trades, which account for two-thirds of all CAREERS internships, and agriculture, which saw a 47% increase in youth participation since 2023. Additionally, we are expanding into fast-growing fields such as aviation, tourism, and renewable energy, and exploring how advancements in technology impact the workforce.
In this rapidly evolving job market, CAREERS is helping to redefine Albertans’ perception of career success. Throughout this year’s report, you’ll find stories that illustrate the real impact our work has on young people—stories of discovery, growth, and high achievement. These stories also highlight the positive impact these youth have on their employers and industries. Alberta’s economy depends on a strong, dynamic, skilled workforce, and these youth will be our future leaders. CAREERS has a proven track record of providing opportunities that lead to rewarding career pathways, culminating in leadership positions and other critical roles that ultimately shape Alberta’s future.
Looking ahead, we are excited to build on this momentum. Our goal is to continue expanding our reach, connecting more of Alberta’s youth with the experience and mentorship that will serve as a foundation for their futures. In doing so, we aim to bridge the gap between the passion and potential that youth bring to the table and Alberta’s workforce needs.
To everyone who has supported CAREERS this year—thank you. Your dedication is the spark that drives every life-changing experience. We are excited to lead CAREERS into this next chapter and look forward to continuing this journey with you in the years to come.

President & CEO

Board Chair

“I’m a school principal. I don’t have the skillset to get a student placed with an employer. So if you have an organization that’s going to help you and support you to do those things, then it just makes sense to work with them.”
Tom Henderson
Many Horses High School | Calgary

“It’s one thing to sit and grumble about employee shortages, and it’s another to take things into your own hands and make sure we have a solution going forward. CAREERS helps you do that.”
Scott Koughan
Fix Auto Sherwood North | Sherwood Park

NORTH WEST
448 interns
277 employers
NORTH EAST
527 interns
402 employers
CAPITAL
816 interns
478 employers
CENTRAL
721 interns
447 employers
CALGARY FOOTHILLS
1,074 interns
670 employers
SOUTH
926 interns
555 employers
Alberta’s future workforce needs are continually changing. Guided by industry insights, CAREERS adapts by expanding programming and providing opportunities across a diverse range of industries and sectors, including:
Skilled Trades • Agriculture • Information & Communications Technology (ICT) • Forestry ENERGY/OIL & GAS • Healthcare • Aviation • And more!

Kurtis Kwashuk started RAP through CAREERS when he was 16 and has moved up the ranks at PTW Energy to be the Area Manager in Redwater. He is now helping mentor the next generation of CAREERS interns. “I’d like to keep supporting the program and keep it growing because that’s our future.”
Kurtis Kwashuk
REGIONAL MANAGER | PTW ENERGY
CAREERS facilitated 3,088 internships in the skilled trades last year, including 184 positions in the Co-op Apprenticeship Program.

“I didn’t really have much of a plan before this, so doing this internship was definitely an eye opener. I didn’t know if I was going to like forestry, and I love it. There’s just no way I could do an office job after this.”
Maya Callihoo
FORESTRY INTERN | WEST FRASER
CAREERS’ collaborates with Inside Education and Work Wild in the Forestry Futures Alliance to provide student and teacher awareness as well as forestry-related internship positions to high school students.

“By 21, I’ll be an Aircraft Maintenance Engineer and pilot. I love traveling to places like the Northwest Territories—no two days are ever the same. They say if you love what you do, you’ll never work a day, and this job proves it.”
STEEL BURKE
AIRCRAFT MAINTENANCE ENGINEER APPRENTICE | ADVENTURE AVIATION
CAREERS, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH ELEVATE AVIATION AND THE CANADIAN COUNCIL FOR AVIATION AND AEROSPACE, HAS FORMED THE ALBERTA AVIATION FUTURES ALLIANCE. This collaboration provides youth with engagement opportunities, internships, and training programs, addressing the global aviation workforce shortage.

“I’m really lucky to have this internship because I get to be hands-on with the animals. After this, I’d like to take Equine Massage Therapy at Olds College, so it definitely helped me figure out what I want to do.”
ABAGAIL RYCKMAN
Large Animal Intern | Century Mile Racetrack
With 614 placements this year, nearly 14% of all CAREERS internships were related to agriculture.

Aurora Big Plume is one of nine Many Horses High School students who interned at Calgary’s Grey Eagle Resort this summer.
“This internship was a godsend, helping me support my mom while inspiring a career in cooking and baking. Learning from my head chef, Dash, has opened my eyes to this path.”
Big Plume’s internship was part of the CAREERS Indigenous Youth Internship Program, which promotes career awareness among Indigenous youth. Over the past year, it facilitated 623 internships, supported by partnerships with Alexander First Nation, Fort McKay First Nation, and Fort McMurray Métis Local 1935.
Aurora Big Plume
COOK APPRENTICE | GREY EAGLE RESORT

“Working in a male-dominated field was daunting at first, but I’m grateful for what I’ve learned. Each day, I gain new knowledge. Without this internship, I wouldn’t have discovered my options or pursued a dual apprenticeship.”
CAREERS supported 527 work-integrated learning opportunities in skilled trades for females over the past year. The Young Women in Trades and Technologies program provides safe and supported opportunities for females to try male-dominated career pathways.
NADYA AL-BAYATI
AUTO SERVICE TECHNICIAN/HEAVY EQUIPMENT TECHNICIAN APPRENTICE | CITY OF EDMONTON
CAREERS launched the U21 Program following the COVID pandemic to support youth fresh out of high school who may have missed out on the opportunity to explore the skilled trades. With many young people unsure of what to do after the program has been a resounding success. In 2024, CAREERS facilitated 385 U21 internships – a 27% increase over the previous year.
Sandra Cardinal
Director, Aboriginal Affairs, Alberta Pacific Forest Industries
Doug Fingland
Director, TA Planning and Logistics Regional Services, Upstream, Suncor Energy
David LeMay
President, McAsphalt Industries
Board Vice Chair
Board Nominating Committee Chair
Tim Lindsay
Executive Vice- President, Pacific Western Transportation
Patricia Pelton
Corporate Director
Dean Perkins
Senior Vice President, Canadian Thermal and Conventional Heavy Oil Operations, Cenovus Energy
Lora Pillipow
Deputy Minister, Alberta Education
Kristin Romeril
VP Operations, Kaizen Automotive Group
Sandra Sutter
Corporate Director
Kelly Smith-Fraser
Manager, NuHaven Cattle Co.
Secretary & Treasurer
Finance and Audit Committee Chair
Janine Sullivan
President & CEO, FortisAlberta
Donavon Young
Deputy Minister,
Alberta Indigenous Relations
STEFAN RUTKOWSKI
President & CEO
ERICKA FOLK
Director, Partnerships
JEANNIE HAWKSWORTH
Director, Finance & Corporate Services
SAROEUN KEUTH-RAY
Director, Programs & Development
KOMAL ROHRA
Director, People
STACEY RISHAUG
Director, Marketing & Communications
CAREERS appreciates the contributions of retiring board members: Darlene Bouwsema, Corporate Director, and Bernd Manz, Corporate Director.
In 2023, SafeGen joined the CAREERS family, driven by a shared commitment to empowering youth in their journey toward safe and fulfilling careers. SafeGen offers free safety courses for youth including HCS3000, HCS3010, AGR3000 and Mental Health in the Workplace, providing the necessary foundation to promote safety on the jobsite.
In the first full year under the CAREERS umbrella, there have been 12,088 successful course completions. The redevelopment of our most popular courses are either underway or completed, ensuring content is up to date with legislation and improving interactivity and user experience.

OCTOBER 1, 2023– SEPTEMBER 30, 2024
Full financial statements are available at:
careersnextgen.ca/arfs
ESTIMATED VALUE EMPLOYERS INVESTED IN INTERNS
Total Revenue $10,870,860
Operating Expenses $10,951,892
Out of Alberta’s 57,000 apprentices this year, more than 2,700 began as high school students in the Registered Apprenticeship Program (RAP).
This is an 18% increase over 2022.
– Alberta Apprenticeship and Industry Training
Leaders $10,000+
FortisAlberta
Government of Canada
Jim Carter and Lorraine Bray
Construction Labour Relations
an Alberta Association
Kal Tire
Ledcor Industries
Telus Community Board Calgary
Friends $1000+
4G Motorsports
4G Tempo
Alberta Wall and Ceiling Association
Calgary Foundation
Michael Colborne
Ericka Folk
Andy Fraser
Jardeg Construction Services
Janis Lawrence-Harper
Bernd and Angela Manz
MiLo Group
Andy and Kathi Neigel
Eric and Kathy Newell
Northbridge General
Insurance Corporation
Northwestern Alberta
Foundation
Nutrien
Sunset Recycle & Sales
Total HR Solutions
Event Partners

FLINT Energy Services
Jardeg Construction Services Ltd
LPS Crane
Moli Industries
We strive for accuracy in recognizing partners. If there are any additions or changes required, please contact partnerships@nextgen.org
CAREERS: The Next Generation Foundation is a student focused, industry-school-community partnership that provides awareness and experience. Youth are encouraged to engage in learning, stay in school and discover their career passion in skilled trades, technologies, and occupations in high demand.
CAREERS: The Next Generation Foundation
18256 102 Ave NW, Edmonton, AB T5S1S7
1.888.757.7172 | communications@nextgen.org
careersnextgen.ca
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