Building connections

Cole Wiebe aspires to be a diesel mechanic after he graduates, but on Wednesday, he gave being a lineworker a try.

The Grade 10 Windsor Park Collegiate student was among the hundreds of students who visited the power line technician climbing station organized by Manitoba Hydro at the Manitoba Construction Career Expo.

After putting on a belt, spurs and an orange high-vis hoodie, Cole ascended the six-metre-tall pole at Red River Exhibition Place, ringing a Winnipeg Blue Bombers cowbell to signal he’d made it to the top.

“It was pretty enjoyable,” the teen said once his feet were back on the ground.

It was his first time at the annual expo, which is organized by the Winnipeg Construction Association and its partners, Apprenticeship Manitoba and the province of Manitoba.

“It’s interesting to see all the stuff and it’s interactive,” Cole said. “I like that a lot.”

At the Manitoba Masonry Institute’s booth, Leah Lindell got a chance to “butter a brick” — put mortar on a concrete block and add it to an arch participants were constructing with the guidance of an experienced mason.

The Grade 10 student was one of about 40 teenagers from Lundar High School who made the 75-minute bus trip.

“I just wanted to see what it was all about,” Leah said. She’s considering a career in veterinary medicine and has never thought about working in the trades before.

“But I thought this would be a neat experience. It’s pretty fun.”

There were around 30 career tracks on display at the one-day event, which attracted nearly 1,500 students from around Manitoba.

Organizers paid for buses and lunch, as well as the substitute educators required to teach the students that didn’t come to the event.

Winnipeg Construction Association president Ron Hambley said the WCA has organized the expo for more than 15 years because its members — which include 800 businesses that work in industrial, commercial and institutional construction — are concerned about the future number of workers entering the trades.

It’s the “single largest issue” on their minds, according to Hambley.

“This (expo) flows from that,” he said. “So many (students) will never see anything; they’ll never tour a construction site or have the opportunity to see any of the tools that are inside. So this is a one-day opportunity for about 1,500 kids to have a look around.”

At the Manitoba Construction Sector Council’s booth, students could play games that showcased different skills required to build a home. The activities, which included a virtual reality simulator, highlighted not only the importance of hand-eye co-ordination but communication skills as well.

A $10,000 drone at the booth served to illustrate what Ramir Diaz, education and training manager at the council, calls “a trending career path” in construction: drone operator.

Students who visited the Manitoba Institute of Trades and Technology booth learned about the school’s CAD (computer-aided design) technician program; at the St. John Ambulance display, participants got a brief introduction to CPR using one of two training dummies.

Meanwhile, at one of the most popular booths, members of the Architectural Woodwork Manufacturers Association of Canada showed students how to use glue, an air nailer and a router to assemble and sand their own shadow boxes — just in time to give mom on Mother’s Day.

“We hope to introduce them to what woodworking’s all about,” said Rick Mostert, an AWMAC member who has worked in the trades for more than 35 years. “We want to invest in our future … Hopefully, they want to get into an apprenticeship.”

It was an exciting day for Eleanor Wainio, a Grade 12 student at Sturgeon Heights Collegiate.

Attending the school has introduced her to a variety of trades, including carpentry and power mechanics; next week, she’s taking her exam to become a certified welder.

“It’s incredible,” she said of the expo. “Everything they have to offer is better than a presentation in a school gym.”

She already has a full-time job lined up at a renovation company once she graduates in June, and plans to pursue a career in heating, ventilation and air conditioning.

“It gives you a sense of accomplishment and a feeling of pride knowing you did something not everyone can do,” she said of working in the trades.

aaron.epp@freepress.mb.ca