The participating employers included Aberdeen Paving and Burridge Campus of the Nova Scotia Community College.
The Building Futures initiative is a five-to-seven-week summer pre-apprenticeship program that places high school students into various construction-related fields such as plumbing, electrical, pipe fitting, manufacturing, carpentry, project management and more.
“The training the Building Futures program did for us was very well put together. I recommend anyone and every student to try to go through this program,” said 2012 Building Futures for Youth participant Katie Ritcey.
Since 2008 more than 325 high school students in Nova Scotia have participated in this program developed by the Construction Association of Nova Scotia (CANS) in partnership with the Department of Education-English Program Services, Department of Labour and Advanced Education, Apprenticeship Training and Skill Development division and the Nova Scotia Community College.
“Building Futures for Youth provides Nova Scotia high school students the opportunity to safely explore careers in construction. For employers, it is a chance to recruit potential future employees while providing students with a head start on their career path,”said Alain Lefebvre, Building Futures for Youth coordinator with the Construction Association of Nova Scotia.“It is a win-win for students and employers.”
The program begins with classroom presentations in September followed by an application deadline in December. Upon acceptance, the program will consist of three components: in-school pre-placement, CANS training at NSCC and a five-to-seven-week paid summer work placement with a host employer in the construction industry. Eligible students qualify for up to three co-op credits and up to 300 construction trades pre-apprentice hours and NSCC scholarship opportunities.
“The student we received was a great worker, always punctual and ready to do what was asked of him. He had a good understanding of the construction industry and a lot of the basic training we use,”said Mike Sheppard of Shep-Com Construction Ltd. of Meteghan, another of the participating employers. “We will keep taking students from the Building Futures for Youth program and hopefully some of them will come and work for me some day.”
