Tim Aylward runs the Indigenous Trades Program at Nip-Rock Highschool in Red Rock, Ont. He has been leading students in building a modular home, which will be transported to Ginoogaming First Nation after its springtime completion.David Jackson/The Globe and Mail
When Simon McKay’s high-school guidance counsellor told him about a new class where students learn skilled trades by building a house from the ground up, which is then donated to a member of a nearby First Nation, the teenager was eager to enroll.
By his own admission, sitting at a desk while a teacher lectures from the blackboard has never been the way the 18-year-old learns best, and so the new class had an instant appeal.
“I knew it was for me because I like hands-on work and building stuff,” he says.
The Indigenous Skilled Trades Training program originally launched at Hammarskjold High School in Thunder Bay in 2022. This past October it expanded to Nipigon-Red Rock District High School, an hour’s drive north of Thunder Bay, where Mr. McKay and his classmates are nearing completion of the fourth home built under the program.
The goal of the program is to provide students with hands-on training in the trades while earning credit, an experience that may inspire some of them to pursue careers in carpentry, plumbing or other trades, says Lisa MacLeod, the vice-principal at Nipigon-Red Rock.
“It’s kind of like a pre-apprentice training program,” she says.
Last fall, the two dozen students in the class began framing the 560-square-foot house under a carpenter’s supervision. They recently finished most of the electrical work with help from a retired electrician from the Red Rock Indian Band.
Students take siding measurements around a modular home they have been building. The home will eventually be transported to Ginoogaming First Nation after its completion.David Jackson/The Globe and Mail
Framing the house was Mr. McKay’s favourite part of the process so far.
“I finally know how to read a tape measurement. I know how to work the mitre saw,” he says.
The completed house will be transported to a nearby First Nation where it will become someone’s home. That aspect of the course is a big part of its appeal, says Erika Bottle, a Grade 12 student.
“It feels good to know that we can make houses for some people that have a hard time finding homes,” she says.
Ms. Bottle’s family has been speaking to her over the past couple of years about possibly pursuing a career in the trades. Thanks to the course, she feels much more confident about following that path.
Draven Haskell, 16, left, and Morgana Bolzonella, 17, learn wiring from Sam Sobush, an electrician with the Red Rock Indian Band.David Jackson/The Globe and Mail
“It’s good to learn and teach yourself different things that you need to prepare for in the future,” she says.
By exposing students to the skilled trades, the course has the potential to help add to a work force that is in short supply, especially in the North, says Bill Boulton, the president and chief executive officer of Smart Modular Canada, the company that provides the materials to build the houses.
The Far North in particular needs talent to help maintain and build housing there, he says. “The training for them to take back to their communities is huge for us.”
The course also includes land-based activities that allow students to explore elements of Indigenous culture and learn new skills.
“We’ll bring in an elder and go for a hike on the Black Sturgeon River where we’re talking about medicines,” says Tim Aylward, who teaches the class.
This winter the class also underwent training on what to do if someone falls through ice – good training to have for the ice-fishing excursion they went on shortly after.
“It’s more holistic learning,” Mr. Aylward says. “It just makes these kids want to come, and once they buy in and start coming they realize this is a lot of fun.”
Students in the course are showing up to school more and getting better grades, Ms. MacLeod says.
“Going about their high-school experience in a slightly different way is having a huge impact on both attendance and engagement,” she says.
Paul Capon, a political adviser for the Matawa First Nations, a partner of the program since its inception, says its holistic approach is one he hopes to see modelled in more communities.
“They combined Indigenous culture, mental health and wellness and skilled trades together in a collaborative setting that kept the students incredibly engaged,” he says.
Ian Howcroft, director of Skills Ontario, an organization that aims to inspire young people to explore careers in the skilled trades and technologies, says the Indigenous Skilled Trades Training program is one his organization and others like it could learn from.
“The more meaningful hands-on experiential opportunities that can be introduced and provided to students is a great direction,” he says.
Mr. McKay plans on going to college after high school, where he will focus on a career in either construction or sports management, he says.
He’s leaning toward construction, especially now that he has learned some of the skills his uncles used to build their own hunting cabins.
“It kind of runs in my family,” he says.