Robert F. Hall Catholic Secondary School and Brookfield Homes are pleased to announce a new co-operative education program that will provide senior students enrolled in the Construction Technology Program the opportunity to help construct a new home. Students will work in a supervised environment with construction professionals and trades at Brookfield Homes’ new home community, Pathways, in Caledon East.
Ranging in age from 16 to 19, these students will be exposed to many aspects of new home construction. “We are pleased to support this local co-operative education program and provide these mature students with practical hands on experience”, said Marc Thibault, VP of Sales and Marketing at Brookfield Homes. “Doing the work themselves under the guidance of a seasoned tradesperson will be an invaluable experience.”
“Nothing beats ‘on the job’ experience”, said Joe Rodrigues, construction technology teacher and Co-Op teacher John Greer at Robert F. Hall. They have been trying to implement a program of this nature and bring this “hands-on” project to fruition for some time now.
Aside from the primary educational goal of students learning construction technology and all the associated benefits of knowing how to construct a new home, there is a second and possibly more pressing issue/goal. Canada is facing a shortage of skilled trade workers and hopefully programs like this one will help to inspire students to choose a career in the skilled trades sector and help fill this gap.
Placing students on an actual construction jobsite will expose students to the vast career opportunities available to them in the construction sector. For students, the simple observation of various trades working on a jobsite on a daily basis may be all that is needed to spark an interest and to lead them to a future career in this industry
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