Ten Durham College (DC) students are pursuing rewarding careers in the skilled trades through life-changing support from the Schulich Builders Scholarships for the Skilled Trades.

Five students received $20,000 scholarships for one-year programs and five received $40,000 scholarships for two-year programs through The Schulich Foundation whose goal is to help to combat the shortage of skilled trades in the province and amplifying their importance and value to the community. Applications for a third round of scholarships will open to students in 2025.

Kaeli Caguicla, a Mechanical Technician – Elevating Devices, is among DC’s $40,000 winners.

She explains that her father originally encouraged her to pursue a career in accounting, but she took an automotive class in high school and found she loved being in the shop and working with her hands and on tangible problems with solutions.

Caguicla selected her program after attending a DC Open House and speaking with faculty in the Elevating Devices program as well as hearing from her neighbour who works in the industry and is passionate about it.

“It’s been a blast so far, I’ve never enjoyed school so much,” she said. “I truly look forward to most of my classes. I come to school early and leave late. It’s been really fun.”

Earning a Schulich Scholarship has made a big impact on her life covering not only her tuition costs, but other costs like books, food and GO Transit transportation fees for the Scarborough resident.

“I’ve known for a while I would have to pay for my own post-secondary schooling and for my whole life, for birthdays and Christmases, I never spent the money and saved it up into a bank account,” she explains. “But when I was in Grade 12, due to a family situation, all that money was gone so I was kind of stuck—I didn’t even have enough for one year—but then I found out about the Schulich Builders Scholarship and went through the process and received it and it really lifted the pressure off my shoulders, it was really great.”

She said that the scholarship also made it easier for her father and her grandparents to accept her decision to pursue a career in the skilled trades.

“They were proud of me because I won this scholarship.”

Josh Peacocke, a Power Engineering Techniques – Fourth Class student and $20,000 scholarship winner, said he always knew he was going to pursue a career in the trades but wasn’t sure which trade he wanted to pursue until attending a trades fair at the Tribute Communities Centre.

“They had a bunch of stands set up and they had a power engineering booth and I thought it was pretty neat,” he said.

Peacocke said he liked that the program was only a year and that he would receive nine-month reduction of qualifying experience time. After acquiring three months of experience and completing Technical Standards and Safety Authority (TSSA) exams, DC graduates may qualify for their Fourth-Class Operating Engineer Certificate of Qualification.

He said he heard about the scholarship through his guidance counsellor and was surprised when he found out he won.

“I just couldn’t believe it this happened to me,” he said. “I told my parents, my mom cried and she said this is life changing and my dad, he was pretty proud of me.”

Peacocke said there are several benefits to winning the scholarship.

“It’s a motivation to go to school and to finish everything and to do very well and I’m trying significantly harder because I know there’s money on the line. It was also very financially helpful paying for school, I didn’t know how much the books were. I paid a little over a $1,000 for my first semester books.”

Whitby campus Principal and Faculty of Skilled Trades and Apprenticeship Executive Dean Rebecca Milburn congratulated the scholarship winners.

“The skilled trades are the backbone of our economy in key industries like construction, manufacturing, automotive, and infrastructure maintenance and development and I want to thank the Schulich Foundation for supporting our students as they prepare to enter these fields,” she said. “The trades sector continues to offer sustainable, high-demand career opportunities and it is critical that we develop the next generation of skilled workers who will drive innovation and growth in Ontario.”

Durham College 2024 Schulich Builders Scholarship $40,000 winners:

Devon Babich (Cobourg) – Welding Engineering Technician

Kaeli Caguicla (Scarborough) – Mechanical Technician – Elevating Devices

Blake Hutchinson (Oshawa) – Electrical Engineering Technician

Dimitre O’Reggio (Pickering) – Electrical Engineering Technician

Jarod Tieche (Pickering) – Mechanical Technician Millwright

Durham College 2024 Schulich Builders Scholarship $20,000 winners:

Tori Dimytruk (Whitby) – Trades Fundamentals

Amjad Masri (Oshawa) – Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) Technician

Josh Peacocke (Brooklin) – Power Engineering Techniques – Fourth Class

Darcy Short (Whitby) – Trades Fundamentals

Tyler Webb (Toronto) – Trades Fundamentals