Make a Career in the Trades Plan A
The boom in Capital Region construction continues. The LNG Canada project in Kitimat – the largest private infrastructure project in Canadian history – is underway. B.C.’s provincial government recently announced the Cowichan District Hospital Replacement Project as the fourth in a series of major public infrastructure projects (in addition to the Pattullo Bridge Replacement Project, the Broadway Subway Project, and the four-laning of Highway 1 from Kamloops to the Alberta border). Taking all of this into consideration, B.C. faces a skilled-labour demand; so, who will do the building? Victoria’s Carpenters Union, Local 1598 – which is affiliated with the BC Regional Council of Carpenters – is helping to create B.C.’s future workforce by giving high school students summer jobs today.
While an academic postsecondary education is often considered part of the typical career arc, Local 1598 would like high school students to instead consider entering the trades as ‘Plan A.’ That’s the name of the program where students of participating schools in districts 61, 62, and 63 work for Local 1598’s signatory contractors before returning to high school in the fall.
The program’s starting wage is $17.00 per hour, and participants are given approximately $200 worth of tools, the requisite jobsite training, and can earn up to 16 credits towards their high school diploma. Upon completing high school, Plan A participants can become members of carpenters’ Local 1598 and indenture as apprentices on a path towards a Red Seal certificate, which is recognized worldwide. Also, apprentices do not incur student-loan debt, as their tuition is sponsored, and they earn a pay-cheque learning their trade the ten months a year they’re not in class. Moreover, Local 1598 members earn top wages dictated by a collective agreement that includes employer-paid training, health benefits, and a pension.
If a Plan A participant were to pursue academia after high school instead of the trades, they’d at least have gained some valuable life and work experience during the program. And because people often have multiple career changes throughout their lives, it’s worth noting that carpenters who change their careers always retain the rewarding and thought-provoking skills associated with building. Carpenters take pride knowing their contributions shape the city skyline for future generations.