Local residents who are looking to get into the skilled trades are in luck.
The Tools in the Trade Bootcamp, put on by Support Ontario Youth, will be held in Chatham on September 13 and 14.
"It's like three events in one," said Executive Director Stephen Sell. "We do a networking event with employers and workers in the trades. We do training on actual tools that you'll use in the trades as an apprentice. And then we do employability skills, so mock interviews, resume writing, and interpersonal skills, so how to relate to people on a job site."
The first bootcamp on the 13th will take place at Campbell Toyota, and will focus on transportation and motive powers. The second bootcamp on the 14th will be held at Entegrus and will focus on construction and electrical.
Sell said the bootcamp is for anyone who's finished high school.
"The particular Chatham events are geared for adults, so anybody's who's just finished high school and above. In Ontario, the average age of an apprentice is 30, so the bootcamps are geared for anybody who's looking to get into either of those trades.
There are only 30 spots available each day, so anyone interested must first apply online.
"We have an online screening process, so what we are trying to do it set people up for success in the trades," said Sell. "We have a technology partner that we've been using for the past five years, and we try and match people to their personal characteristics to how well they fit what a tradesperson in that specific trade looks like. Those people are invited to the event and we go through the process with the training and the networking."
You can apply for the trades bootcamp online at www.supportontarioyouth.ca/bootcamp.
