Indigenous Youth Skilled Trades Workshops on Brockville Campus

Submitted by Amy Hamilton, Manager of Skills, Training & Economic Development with the School of Applied Science, Technology and Trades 

There was a buzz in the air on Brockville campus as the gym was converted into a temporary shop space and a group of local youth were welcomed to SLC! 

The SLC Mobile Training Labs partnered with Skills Ontario – First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Programs, and Family and Children Services of Lanark, Leeds and Grenville to deliver two days of workshops engaging local youth and providing an opportunity to discover interest in skilled trades career pathways. Read more about this great partnership. 

Gathering from surrounding areas, 17 Indigenous youth from varying life paths and stages in their educational journeys participated in hands-on learning across three skilled trades areas – plumbing, masonry, and carpentry. 

On day one, participants spent the morning on plumbing – learning to read drawings, understand PVC piping, and interact with the newly constructed mobile plumbing demonstration – before an afternoon introduction to masonry techniques including laying and leveling concrete blocks. During a full day of carpentry on day two, participants worked in teams to measure, cut, and assemble. By day's end, they had built three accessible picnic tables to donate to the community, and each made a clipboard to take home. 

Sponsors and local employers 3M and Coreslab stopped by to see the action, and lunch and learns were made possible by 3M, the United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices, and Indigenous Recruitment Coordinator Roxanne Lockyer. 

The dedication of the SLC skilled trades team – Chris Coupland, Thai Tran, Patrick Jenkins, Dave Sims, and Leanne Rhem – made it all possible. Their engagement with participants embodies truly meaningful work. Special thanks also to Dwayne Earle and Shawn Ireland, Pre-Firefighter Technician, and his students, for preparing the gymnasium. 

We hope these workshops sparked an interest in a future in the skilled trades – and one day as a student at SLC!