Local 7 Canada Teams with City of Ottawa to Recruit Apprentices

August graduates of the joint Local 7 Canada/City of Ottawa training program proudly hold their certificates with Local 7 Business Manager Dan Plunkett, at lower right.

To help boost apprentice levels and employment opportunities in Ottawa, Ontario, Local 7 Canada is working with city officials to place unemployed residents in masonry careers. Local 7 Business Manager Dan Plunkett and instructor Christian Gariepy devised a pre-apprentice brick pilot program with the Ottawa Technical Learning Center to teach bricklaying skills to area residents. The 16-week program graduated nine trainees in August, and a second class is now underway.

“Many of these new recruits have never stepped foot on a construction site,” says Plunkett, “but with basic instruction and solid hands-on experience behind them, they will serve as productive apprentices when they get on the job.”