A new initiative in Saint John will provide training and construction work to people facing barriers.
Hammers 2 Homes is a six-week program that has been created by the Saint John Tool Library.
Executive Director Brent Harris describes it as a trifecta approach to housing in the Saint John region.
“Someone learns how to swing a hammer, if I can reduce it to that, on a unit that needs a hammer swung at it, and can move into that unit at the end,” Harris told our newsroom in an interview.
Harris said they began developing the initiative about 18 months ago after learning about a similar program in the Australian province of Victoria.
In that program, people on the social housing waitlist who did not have jobs were trained in sectors like construction, where they are in deep need of labour support.
The Saint John Tool Library worked with Ami Cail at the New Brunswick Community College (NBCC) and Aron Jones of Big Dog Construction to develop a six-week micro-credentialing program.
Micro-credentialing is a condensed series of courses that focus on skills needed for particular jobs.
Twelve participants will develop safety and practical skills in the classroom before going to work on an actual job site where affordable housing units are under construction on Duke Street and Bay Street
Participants will be identified in partnership with the John Howard Society of New Brunswick, Fundy Region and the Coverdale Centre for Women.
“The goal being that at the end of that, we find them an employer who is working on affordable housing so they can get a job right out of the gate, and we get them connected to those units that we work on ideally,” said Harris.
Students who complete the program will receive a certificate from the NBCC Saint John campus at the end, he said.
Officials said this will support the creation of affordable housing units while providing the construction industry with new workers who will continue building new homes.
The province recently announced a $95,000 contribution toward the Hammers 2 Homes program through WorkingNB.
“Innovative initiatives like this one will not only help people learn valuable skills in the trades but give them an opportunity to work full time,” Post-Secondary Education, Training and Labour Minister Alyson Townsend said in a news release.
Harris said their ultimate goal would be to expand this program beyond Saint John and even to other provinces.
The tool library has already had discussions with the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency to see how this could grow, he said.
The first cohort of six students is expected to begin their training in the third week of January.
