After-school go-kart club in northeast B.C. is building the next generation of trades workers

While most students head home at the end of the school day in Fort St. John, brothers Arjen and Henry Pos stay behind, sparks flying as they weld seams on a half-finished go-kart frame inside the shop at Dr. Kearney Middle School.

“We’re some of the few kids in our neighbourhood who don’t have a dirt bike or quad,” said Arjen. “A lot of our classmates have parents in the oil patch or live on farms. This is how we get our hands-on experience.”

The brothers are part of a 14-student after-school go-kart club launched last year by shop teacher William McColm. The program introduces students to welding, metal fabrication, digital design and robotics before they ever reach high school.

McColm moves through the shop like a foreman, assigning customized tasks and checking on progress as the rhythmic sounds of cutting, grinding and welding echo through the room.

“This stage of life is all about figuring out who you are,” he said. “This program lets students see that they can work with their hands, solve real problems, contribute to a team, and build something meaningful.”

Training for the future of trades

The program comes as B.C. faces a looming labour shortage in skilled trades. Provincial projections estimate more than 168,000 job openings in trades and related fields by 2035, largely due to retirements.

This year’s club will build three go-karts in stages. The first is a basic gas-powered model. Next comes a full-suspension kart. The final project will be a self-driving electric vehicle powered by sensors and onboard computers.

“We’re blending robotics with fabrication,” McColm said. “We’ll add sensors, computers and automation systems so students see how trades and technology now work together.”

McColm believes tomorrow’s trades workers won’t just need mechanical skill — they’ll need to understand automation and artificial intelligence as well.

“If students leave here knowing both robotics and hands-on fabrication, they’ll be far better prepared for what’s coming,” he said.

Safety, skills and big dreams

For the Pos brothers, the lessons go beyond welding and design. Arjen dreams of becoming a 3D video game designer, while Henry wants to build rockets. Both say the club is teaching the discipline and attention to detail those careers demand.

“The number one thing is safety,” said Henry. “When you lose fear of a tool, that’s when it hurts you.”

The students fabricate nearly everything themselves, including the chassis, steering systems and custom metal components. Parts they can’t build are sourced from local suppliers, online retailers and community donations.

The shop is set to receive a new milling machine from the school district, and McColm says he hopes to add a lathe next — expanding what students will be able to design and manufacture.

“What we’re doing here is helping create the next generation of trades workers in the Peace region,” McColm said. “Any business that supports this is strengthening the entire community.”

Go-kart rodeo in the spring

The finished karts will hit the school track in May for Dr. Kearney’s first-ever go-kart rodeo. McColm hopes teams from across the district — and eventually from other parts of B.C. — will come to race and compete in build challenges.

“The goal is to make this an annual tradition,” he said.

For now, the sparks continue to fly as students weld, measure, code and assemble — learning that the future of trades is part steel, part software, and completely hands-on.