Construction projects require teamwork from many different people with many different skills. The same is true of building up the construction industry.

To achieve their mission of “strengthening Manitoba’s construction sector workforce by promoting the construction industry as a career of choice”, the Manitoba Construction Sector Council (MCSC) knows that it is crucial for them to team up with other organizations. One way that they do that is through summer camps.

MCSC has partnered with other organizations in the past to deliver summer camps, such as school divisions, Skills Canada Manitoba, and more, and did so again in summer 2024. They hosted several weeks of summer camp led by Ramir Diaz, MCSC’s Education and Training Manager, and James Murphy, MCSC’s Community and Youth Liaison.

Two weeks were for students of Freedom International School – a Winnipeg school for students who are new to Canada after living in refugee camps and war-torn countries – where MCSC delivered their own carpentry lessons to 15 students each week between ages 10 and 16, but also brought in other organizations to introduce the students to other construction trades.

Must see!

See more images from our FlickR page showcasing all the highlights MCSC’s summer camp.

Week one saw the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 2085 deliver three days of lessons on electrical work, where students learned about AC and DC voltage, worked with batteries, and wired a lightbulb switch. Week two saw students visit the Piping Industry Technical College (PITC) Local 254, where they built their own ladder golf games out of PVC piping, were taught how to solder copper piping, and learned about water pressure in PITC’s sprinkler room.

“We’re always trying to collaborate and partner with the industry, different unions, and institutions to share knowledge and training space, and to showcase these trades to people who might not be aware or have access to these resources,” said Diaz.

Warren Herntier, President/Director of Apprenticeship and Training for IBEW Local Union 2085 noted that while everybody is aware of electricity, not many people truly understand how it works. Collaborations like these allow them to share what kind of work goes into electricity.

“Our modern lives are almost solely run by electricity, and there will be an increased need for electrical workers in the future,” said Herntier. “It’s more important than ever for people to understand electricity so they can understand how their lives work.”

The same goes for PITC.

“We wanted the students to be aware of things they may not have looked at before,” said Christina Thiessen, a Steamfitter RSE/Digital Education Development Instructor with PITC who ran the piping activities at the summer camp. “After the camp, hopefully students can go into a building and identify piping systems,and can say that they know how to put that pipe together.”

But there’s something even more important going on during these camps for IBEW and PITC.

“The most important outcome was that the students had a positive experience, and that they developed a bit of curiosity about the trade, and potentially an interest in becoming an electrician,” said Herntier.

“Construction can be very intimidating for some people,” added Thiessen. “So, we hope to show that we’re creative people, we’re highly skilled, and that we’re always willing to share our knowledge.”

The other benefit for MCSC when it comes to collaborating with unions and other construction organizations is access to tools and space, allowing them to give students authentic hands-on experiences.

Those hands-on experiences not only introduced students to tools they had never used before, but gave them confidence as they improved on their carpentry, electrical, and piping skills throughout the week.

“At the start of the week, some students were tentative about power tools,” said Diaz. “But by the end of the week, they were confidently trying things out. The more you do it, the better you get. And the better you get at something, the more likely you are to enjoy it and consider it as a career.”

Whether it was through trades awareness or increased confidence with tools, MCSC is confident that their collaborations with IBEW and PITC were a big success in showing kids what is possible with a career in construction trades.