Training Program.

BUILDING URBAN INDUSTRIES FOR LOCAL DEVELOPMENT

Build Inc/Training Program

Training Program.

The 700 hour training program overview

Our paid training program is designed for people most employers (and social service agencies) would deem “unemployable”. Few trainees hired by BUILD have completed high school, and few have worked in the formal labour market. Many trainees have had contact with the criminal justice system, some are struggling with addictions, and many have unstable home environments. Most often, trainees do not have a driver’s license, and most have no prior experience using tools or even a measuring tape. These are basic requirements for entry into the construction trades.

Our trainers provide hard skills training and mentorship to trainees – offering a supportive environment for trainees to learn and grow. Trainees also have access to a team of support workers, including a Training Coordinator, a Safety and Hard Skills Instructor, and a Employment and Education Facilitator.

The Training Coordinator works one-on-one with trainees to access on-site workshops and classes as wide-ranging as parenting, money management to math upgrading and high school completion. She also organizes cultural activities, such as sweat lodge ceremonies, and can put trainees in contact with community elders.

Our Employment and Education Facilitator works with trainees to develop long term goals, such as entering trades-based education programs, or securing employment in the construction sector. He also works with trainees to update their resumes, account for newly acquired skill-sets, and matches trainees with potential employers.

The Safety and Hard Skills Instructor provides all required safety training and facilitates all initial hard skills training in our dedicated training workshop. Here trainees receive practical hands-on instruction specific to the work they will do in our Social Enterprise Department.

Trainees who finish the six-month work program either go on to complete their high school and enter apprenticeship programs (largely, in carpentry), or they move directly into the work force. BUILD has been able to hire a select number of former trainees as part of our permanent staff.

Training program break down

BUILD’s training program consists of in-class training and practicum placements. The in-class training component is delivered in the first 6 weeks and includes both life skills and vocational training. The practicum placements occur in the remainder of a trainee’s 700 hours.

In-class training

Trades-based tutoring:
Math is fundamentally important in the Trades. BUILD has partnered with Workplace Education Manitoba to offer tutoring to those trainees needing to further their knowledge and skills in trades-based math.

Life skills training

Life skills training is included in the in-class component of the program and provides Participants with skills required to transition to the labour market, which could include the following programs:

Money management training

Parenting program for eligible participants;
Cultural programming;
Driver training; and
Math tutoring (provided by Workplace Education Manitoba)

Training occurs on site through work orders obtained through Manitoba Housing, other housing providers, or private sector contracts.

Vocational training

Vocational training will provide Participants with skills required for the practicum component. Training could include the following programs:

  • Provision of personal tools and safety equipment
  • First Aid/CPR
  • WHMIS
  • Safety training: fall protection, personal protective equipment, hearing conservation, ladder safety, hands on safe power and hand tool use, other training as needed
  • Tool use
  • Introduction to trades basics
  • Introduction to carpentry and plumbing trades
  • Other trades skills as determined by BUILD’s current scope of work

Practicum training

Participants obtain work experience through practicums for the remainder of their time with us. Practical work experience is gained performing construction tasks in BUILD’s social enterprise, conducting interior renovation, patching and and painting, or doing demolition work. This prepares them for the real-world environment of their future careers in the trades.