By: Mike Anderson
It’s not easy to make a midlife career change, let alone during a pandemic.
But for Pat Lamanna, 38, who recently lost his job as a barber in Barrie, there’s no turning back.
Mr. Lamanna is one of 108 students learning a skilled trade at Georgina’s new GTTI Skilled Trades Institute, which opened its doors earlier this month.
“I lost my job due to Covid,” said Mr. Lamanna, who supports a wife and two children, and found the institute through an online search.
“This is basically a life turnaround. They are giving me a second chance. I’m here today, starting a new career and a new life. “
Mr. Lamanna, who is taking a 26-week flooring course, said the big selling point for him was the offer of free tuition.
“Normal semester tuition is $9,000. And your textbooks will start at $3,600. Here the costs are almost nothing,” he said.
The GTTI Skilled Trades Institute, which receives funding from multiple levels of government, including a $2.6 million loan from the Town of Georgina, offers free 26-week residential construction pre-apprentice programs in carpentry, electrical, plumbing, HVAC, roofing, flooring, cabinetry, and drywall and an introduction to CAD (computer-aided design).
According to Phil Adams, the institute’s director, the goal is to get students “job-ready” by giving them hands-on practical skills to succeed in the trades.
“We’re trying to give an opportunity to some of the disadvantaged groups, including people that have lost jobs, that normally wouldn’t get that chance,” he said.
“And given the fact that we’re able to deliver this training free of tuition is a huge advantage for some of the students, who may not have the means to pay.”
Mr. Adams adds that another big advantage is the training is based on the Ontario College of Trades (OCOT) curriculum, which is the apprenticeship training standard in Ontario.
“When the students leave our training facility they’re job-ready. And they’re going to have the skill sets that employers are looking for.”
Still, Mr. Adams admits that launching the institute during a pandemic hasn’t been easy.
Hiring instructors and on-boarding students were done virtually, as in-person meetings weren’t possible.
And Covid restrictions meant that classes had to be limited to a maximum of eight students and one instructor.
But perhaps the biggest challenge was securing a home for the institute.
Due to the pandemic, construction delays meant that the new campus, slated to be built at 1614 Metro Rd, wouldn’t be ready in time.
“We wanted to have had our facility up and running for this cohort to come in. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen,” Mr. Adams said. “So, we were looking for a plan B.”
Plan B was renting multiple buildings at the Salvation Army Camp in Jackson’s Point.
“The Salvation Army has been fantastic and opened up their doors for us. And we are modifying some of their larger buildings for our practical lab spaces, where we were able to deliver all the practical components of our program. So it’s not our plan A, but it’s a very, very good plan B.”
While it’s taken a lot of deft planning, hard work and support from the community to get to this point, Mr. Adams is confident that the institute will succeed.
“The jobs are definitely there. The pandemic has affected all aspects of life, including the trades. But as far as residential construction goes, it hasn’t slowed.”
Mr. Lamanna agrees.
“The trades are where the money is, and the sky’s the limit.”
The GTTI Skilled Trades Institute is now accepting registrations for its summer term, visit www.gtti.ca/skilled-trades-institute.
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