Image Credit: CFJC Today

By Adam Donnelly

HAMMER (AND NAILS) TIME!

Clearwater Secondary students get hands-on learning experience in carpentry foundations program

Jun 24, 2024 | 6:30 PM

CLEARWATER, B.C. — It was the last day of school for most students at Clearwater Secondary School on Monday (June 24). That is unless you’re a Grade 11 or 12 student involved in a career development program, in which nine CSS students are working toward their Level One carpentry apprenticeship through a partnership with Thompson Rivers University, SD73, Borrow Enterprises and the District of Clearwater.

The hammers were hung quietly in the woodshop at Clearwater Secondary School on Monday. However, they’ve been busy for the past few months, as a group of Grade 11 and 12 students have been using them to build this house in a subdivision in the North Thompson community.

“The kids know how to build a house now. They know what’s involved, the hard work involved, but they’re also seeing the payoff,” Tim Kasten, the TRU Trades carpentry instructor who has been teaching the program in Clearwater, explains. “I think most of them are very proud of what they’ve done, and it shows in the work they’ve done.”

There were nine CSS students who enrolled in the program, which continued for another four weeks. For those in the program, it was a chance to gain a practical skill set.

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“I normally don’t do too well in normal classrooms,” Grade 11 student Dominic Mutch says.

The students agree that watching your work progress as the building goes up has been the best part of the program, so far.

The home CSS students and community members built through the carpentry program, in partnership with TRU Trades – Image Credit: CFJC Today

“[I enjoy] framing,” Mutch explains. “It’s more hands-on and you get to see what it does way quicker.”

“Coming from an IT background, you can spend all day working on something and have nothing physical to show for it,” Tim Stairs explains. “Whereas a couple of hours of putting two-by-fours together, you can actually see what you’ve built.”

Stairs is one of two community members who signed up to take the program alongside the CSS students. He’s already signed up to take the next step with the TRU Trades program in Kamloops.

“I registered for second year already, so I start in the middle of September,” Stairs tells CFJC Today.

The plan is to run this program every other year in Clearwater to give a new cohort of students and community members the opportunity to learn these skills.

“This gives them a good opportunity for a well-paying job,” Kasten says. “For those who want to go on as carpenters, you know, some of these kids are in Grade 11 right now, they’ve got Level One carpentry done,” Kasten says. “They could be a journeyman carpenter by the time they’re 20 years old.”

The next batch of hopefuls was given a chance to listen to the advantages of the program ahead of the next intake in a couple of years. If they were to ask the current students what they thought of the program, this is what Dominic Mutch would say:

“Just commit. It’s definitely worth it.”