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New flexibility in apprenticeship training to benefit industry, 41 high school students
Changes promise solution to looming skills shortages
Students from two Surrey high schools - Frank Hurt and Guildford Park Senior Secondary Schools - are breaking new ground.
Innovative changes to BC's apprenticeship rules have led to a new high-school program that is giving students a head start on bright futures in the province's construction industry - and helping employers find potential apprentices who already have a good, basic grounding in various aspects of construction.
"The new apprenticeship model provides citation certificates for different aspects of a trade," explains Doug Podetz, career development facilitator at Frank Hurt. "Now people can enter and exit the apprenticeship program at different stages, depending on their specialties and their needs and the requirements within the industry.
"We've broken the process up so we can attract many more people - and if all someone wants to do is one specialty, they can earn a certificate for that specialty without the need to complete all four years of a traditional apprenticeship course."
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Grade 11 student Ryan Boen is one of the first to benefit from new flexibility being introduced to apprenticeship programs.
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What looks like a mini housing estate is springing up in two large workshops at Frank Hurt: Under construction are five "down-scaled houses" being built by the students to provide opportunities for them to learn, develop, and practise skills in surveying, layout of floor joists, framing, floor and wall sheeting, stair design and construction, and various roofing solutions from installing rafters to finished asphalt and cedar shingles.
Students started the daily course in February and will spend the month of May at Kwantlen College before completing the course. At Kwantlen, they will work on aspects of concrete construction, including concrete forms and stairs. They will also gain their certificates in the use of powder-activated concrete shot.
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| As the youngest student in the class, Adam Buscher (right) gets an early start on a rewarding career in construction. He is laying out floor joists with Grade 12 colleague Jordan Meyer. |
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Experts from industry will train them in different aspects of safety, and Grant McMillan of the Council of Construction Associations will run them through the BC safety systems program.
"Our goal is to have the students end up with their Level 1 carpentry certificate and a broad enough knowledge of Levels 1 and 2 that they can go on a commercial site and work with concrete forms, or on a residential site and be a contributing member of a framing or roofing crew," Mr. Podetz says.
"It's giving them a great start on rewarding careers in construction."
Both Grade 11 and 12 students are involved in the course that was developed by Mr. Podetz and Trudy Lyons - his counterpart at Guildford Park - along with the Surrey School District's career program coordinator Vicki Munn.
Mr. Podetz is currently seeking employers who would like to take advantage of his students' new skills and knowledge for the summer work season. He first matches each student's ability to a prospective employer's and then arranges interview sessions prior to any commitments.
He can be reached at Frank Hurt: 604-590-1311.
"It's encouraging to see such innovation already," notes Gord Stewart, ICBA's assistant vice president. "It augurs well for the future of our industry."
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