Trainees building new future

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Blackened fingernails and sore shoulders are badges of honor carried by recent graduates of a construction training program at Six Nations Reserve.

The residential construction apprentice program is a one-year certificate program sponsored and developed jointly by the Six Nations council and the Ministry of Education and Training.

The roots of the project sprang from a program run on Manitoulin Island, Ont. and was modified to fit Six Nations Reserve where more construction is taking place, said George Montour, band council representative.

"This has been a very successful program. I was very pleased," said Montour. "The students worked with experienced construction workers from Six Nations, and that made it friendlier for them," he said.

It also made it tougher as the on-site tutors demanded a high level of achievement from fellow band members, Montour said.

Students in the apprentice program dove into their studies with hands-on lessons

in wielding hammers and levels, setting up frames and putting up roofs. With a growing population of 8,000 on-reserve members, the students were able to participate in projects spanning all stages of construction. The 16-member class worked primarily on a new 40-unit townhouse, said Montour.

More than 75 applicants applied to enter the certificate program, and many of the people accepted in the program brought with them previous experience in the construction business. The trainees spent five months, from June to October, learning about the tools of the trade on the job, taking advantage of the building season. During the winter months until February, they concentrated on theory, including building codes and regulations. Throughout the spring until graduation this month, the class returned to on-site training.

"We're now looking at starting an advanced carpentry course with a portion of the apprentices who are interested," said Montour. The project would also include project management, estimating, and starting a business.

"With the community growing like it is, it will work out quite well," he said.