Eleven young men were awarded certificates on Thursday, July 21, to signify the completion of the Ace-It carpentry level one apprenticeship program.
The hands-on practical course, offered in partnership with Vancouver Island University (the accrediting body) and Habitat for Humanity, also included classroom theory and realized 16 credits towards secondary school graduation for each of the successful participants. The program, part of the curriculum of Sunshine Coast Alternative School, now in its fifth year, also provided some much-needed labour for the housing charity.
The Vancouver Island Uni-versity, represented on Thursday by Peter Ney, sanctions the program. Students can go on to complete the four levels of their trade through that institution. To that end, student Carson Anderson was awarded $1,000 scholarship to VIU. Also recognized at the ceremony were Dillon MacDonald for his dedication to completing the course, Aaron Allan for safety and Rocky Bozak for his academic achievement.
Instructor, Paul Jakobsen was hugely popular with the learners; more than one said how much they were going to miss him.
For his part, Ron Pepper from Habitat told the group they'd see their popularity increase with their friends now that the budding carpenters had these new skills. Pepper said how much it meant to Habitat having the partnership with School District No. 46.
"It's a big deal," he said. "The charity gets their homes framed, and the students gain important experience."
Sally Thicke, principal of the Alternative School, was MC for the event. Her esteem for the program and its students was shared by trustee Greg Russell as well as parting assistant SD46 superintendent Tom Hierck, who said how happy he was to have this conclusion to the successful year as his final official duty for the school district.
