Merritt Secondary School is offering hands-on experience to students interested in a career as a journeyman carpenter—experience so big, they build a house.

It's called a level one carpentry class and MSS has been putting it on for the past two years alongside Thompson Rivers University.

“It's hands-on experience in the community,” said Darren Coates, trades coordinator for School District 58.
“The students can point at something concrete and say, ‘I was part of building that.'”

“The first six weeks are spent in the MSS wood shop studying safety, theory, tool skills, measuring, building codes, and basic framing techniques—with safety being above all else,” said Coates.

The second part of the course is spent on a job site taking a house from the bare ground to lockup.

Students layout and set up forms for concrete, and in some instances pour the concrete for the foundation of the home. From this point they frame up the home in preparation for the installation of doors and windows.

Other trades are contracted in by the homeowner to complete the electrical, plumbing, roofing, and dry walling of the home.
"It took awhile longer, but it's better work than most contractors in town," said homeowner Harcharan Sekhon.

Upon completion of the course, students will have attained their technical training level one. There are four levels to become a journeyman carpenter, plus 1,000 hours of on-the-job training that must be completed before they can write their interprovincial (Red Seal) exam.

In 2009, the course saw 13 participants, with only nine this year. The fact that the course is run locally, allows participants access to a support system of family and the community, while gaining a valuable education. This opportunity is especially inviting to Aboriginal students in the community. While the community has an average of 30 per cent enrollment of Aboriginal students, that number doubles within the carpentry program.

“Offering local trade opportunities is not always easy,” said Coates.

“The district can not invest that sort of money. The cost to start up a carpentry-training course is minimal compared to automotive training, which costs millions in building and start up fees."

“There are a number of local job opportunities for the students completing the program,” continued Coates. “I hope to see some of them leverage their experience into a job.”