Shelburne girl to be featured in upcoming TVO Kids show

Written By PAULA BROWN

LOCAL JOURNALISM INITIATIVE REPORTER

Shelburne residents young and old will need to set a reminder to turn on their televisions on Tuesday (Oct. 15) as one of Shelburne's very own makes her silver screen appearance in a new TV series geared towards teaching youth about the trades. 

Akeylah James, a 13-year-old Shelburne resident, will be co-hosting an upcoming show on TVO Kids called “Trading Skills.”

“Trading Skills” follows co-hosts Akeylah and Brody as they tackle a unique challenge in each episode. With the guidance of their friend Anna, they head out to meet skilled trades professionals who share their expertise with them. The duo then returns to their maker space to apply what they've learned and solve the problem using practical, hands-on skills. 

The series, geared towards children aged 6 to 9, aims to introduce young viewers to the world of skilled trades, sparking early interest in hands-on careers. The show highlights a wide range of trades to showcase opportunities within the trades field. 

“I didn't know anything about the trades at the beginning of this, but now I've experienced a whole bunch. It's really cool now that I get to teach other kids about the trades and I think it's really important that we get more people into them,” said James.

Filming for the show began at the end of March and over the months, James has travelled to different communities in the Toronto area as well as Thornbury, Meaford and Sudbury.

“Sudbury was really cool because there's this museum that has a mine experience with all the things you'd find in a real mine and learning opportunities along the path. It was one of my most favourite places,” said James. 

Trades featured in the show include ironworker, Porsche auto technician, mining millwright, chocolatier, dairy herdsperson, chef, arborist, steamfitter, cabinetmaker, fruit grower, horticulturist, hairstylist, elevator repair technician, and welder. 

“I'm excited for them to learn about all the different types of trades there are, because I didn't even know there were so many and there's even more we haven't covered in the show,” said James. “I want them to learn that you can do this for a living and see that it's such a cool career path.” 

Speaking with the Free Press, James said her favourite trade skill to experience during filming has been dairy herding and arborist. 

“I got to take care of cows, do the automatic milking machine and also feed some newborn baby cows at the end of the episode,” recalled James. “I love trees and being an arborist is all about taking care of trees so we pruned the trees and made sure they were healthy, and there was this whole park full of trees, called an arboretum – that was really fun.” 

The television series consists of 26 episodes with each spanning around 11 minutes long. 

“Trading Skills” will premiere on Oct. 15 on all TVO Kids channels.