ACHO DENE KOE/FORT LIARD - Eight students in Fort Liard will be uniquely qualified to apply for jobs on construction sites this summer in the hamlet.

The students are finishing their final days of the Ready to Work Pre-Employment program offered by Aurora College. This is the first time the program has been offered in the hamlet, said Bobbi Smith, the community adult educator at the college.

Students in the Ready to Work Pre-Employment program at Aurora College in Fort Liard pose with the mock building they constructed. Students include from left, back row: Tyson McLeod, Michael Needlay and Calvin Lomen; front row, from left: Mitchell Berreault, Colin Needlay and Jonathon Duntra. Missing from the picture are Steven Bertrand and Skylar Hardisty. - photo courtesy of Bobbi Smith

The goal of the program is to ready students for entry-level positions in the trades, in this case carpentry, Bobbi said.

Since May 11 the two Aurora College students and six high school students in the program have been learning the basics of carpentry with instructor Norman Smith.

The program was timed to end as the summer construction season begins in the hamlet so the students can apply for jobs on work sites, Bobbi said.

In the shop the students have been learning what to expect on the job. The students started by building forms for concrete to make footings, said Norman.

Next the students built a section of floor with a space for a stairwell. Adding to that they built exterior wall sections with spaces for windows and doors and an interior partition.

Repetition was used to reinforce the learning experience. After each step the students tore apart and rebuilt the structure twice.

"Each time we rebuilt it they did more and more of the work themselves," Norman said.

With the walls up the students moved on to installing a main electrical panel along with a dryer and light circuit and plugs. This step was also repeated.

"They've been doing really good," Norman said.

Attendance in the program has been over 90 per cent, something that Bobbi and Norman said demonstrates the students' enjoyment and enthusiasm for the course.

When the course ends on June 19 the participants will have a basic knowledge of carpentry that will allow them to take direction and then complete a task unaided at a job site, Norman said. The students could work as carpenters' helpers, a step up from being a laborer, he said.

"They do have the ability and they do have the skills to work on a job," said Norman. "They're a good bunch and they all learned something."

Steven Bertrand, one of the Aurora College students, said he found the program to be "really good."

As a result of the course, Bertrand said he's interested in working in carpentry on a job site.

Calvin Lomen, 17, said he also enjoyed learning carpentry basics in the course.

Lomen said he liked putting up the exterior walls on the mock building and ensuring they were level.

"I think I learned quite a bit," Lomen said.