ALBERTA

Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT)
Location: Edmonton
Programs: One-year Millwork and Carpentry, four-year Cabinetry Apprenticeship, Blue Seal Journeyman Cabinetmaker

The eight woodworking shops at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT) in Edmonton, Alta., are home to a one-year Millwork and Carpentry program, four-year Cabinetry apprenticeship and a Blue Seal Journeyman Cabinetmaker program.
The longest running program at the school, Millwork and Carpentry is a year long trade readiness program where students work on both millwork (cabinet making) and carpentry in the first semester and then pick one for their specialty in the second. “At the end of the year they are allowed, if their marks are high enough to challenge the first-year apprenticeship,” says Paul Roberts, chair of the Advanced Woodworking Programs.
Those who opt for the four-year Cabinetry Apprenticeship program spend much of their time learning on the job. After securing work, students return to the program for eight weeks each year. The approximately 130 apprentices come to school to fill in the gaps on things industry might not have time to teach them.

 
The school recently introduced a Blue Seal program for Journeyman Cabinetmakers to expand their education. The program consists of four business courses as its core, four courses in technology and four courses in productivity enhancement, says Roberts. “It usually runs Friday evening, Saturday into Sunday once a month,” he says. “It is for journeymen who want to upgrade their business supervisory skills. We hope to have 15 students in the program. It started with the business courses and will carry on in the fall with the productivity courses.”

 

Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT)
Location: Calgary
Programs: Four-year carpentry apprenticeship, four-year cabinetmaking apprenticeship, two-year pre-employment program

At the Calgary-based Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT), the carpentry and cabinet-making four-year apprenticeships are run in accordance to guidelines from the Alberta government. In addition, the school offers a two-year pre-employment program for students of any age who have the desire but not the apprenticeship work experience. The pre-employment class, which operates in a 5,000-square foot shop, offers an introduction to both carpentry and cabinetmaking. “We run first year in carpentry and first year in cabinetmaking,” says Dave Edwards, academic chair of apprenticeships. “That is a ‘user pays’ program, where the students pay to be in the program. The next two classes are completely full and we run a class size of around twelve.”

 
Operating with a much larger combined class size of 900, the carpentry and cabinetmaking apprenticeships work in 25,000 and 10,000 square feet shops respectively.
The instructors that work at SAIT have the knowledge necessary to teach the next generation of apprentices, says Edwards. “They all have five to 10 years of experience, not including their apprenticeships,” he says. “A lot of them come in with 20 years experience.” Some are former students of the school themselves.
For more information on apprenticeships in Alberta and across Canada, visit tradesecrets.gov.ab.ca/ or servicecanada.gc.ca/eng/on/lmi/eaid/occinfo/apprent.shtml

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