Pre-Apprenticeship & Apprenticeship Support
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Pre-Apprenticeship & Apprenticeship Support

KGHS is supporting Fort Good Hope residents, as well as residents in other Sahtú communities, to become certified construction tradespeople. This will allow our communities to be self-sufficient and improve the local economy, by keeping work within the community rather than bringing in contractors for construction needs. To do this, KGHS is offering various opportunities to residents to gain the skills and experience they need to become certified construction tradespersons. If you are interested in this program, please reach out to KGHS and provide your name, contact information, and what trade area(s) you are interested in.

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In the NWT, there are 3 categories of tradespeople. KGHS is willing to support Sahtú residents in the Construction Trades, which can be found in Category A and Category B. While all of these trades are important, KGHS has listed some of these as high priority, meaning the Sahtu is in dire need of people with these skills.

Category A

High Priority

  • Carpenter
  • Crane and Hoisting Equipment Operator 
  • Housing Maintainer

Low Priority

  • Insulator – Heat and Frost
  • Locksmith
  • Painter and Decorator
  • Roofer

Category B

High Priority

  • Construction Electrician
  • Gasfitter A
  • Gasfitter B
  • Heavy Equipment Technician
  • Oil Heat Systems Technician
  • Plumber

There are many different pathways to becoming a certified tradesperson. These include achieving 70% on the Trades Entrance Exam, obtaining certain grades in certain high school classes, or passing 5 of the Canadian General Development (GED) tests. Only one of these needs to be completed. Once one of these pathways is achieved, the student can sign up to be an apprentice, and work with a certified tradesperson to complete enough hours of work experience before they get certified.

What projects are we working on?

High School Trades Program

  • KGHS is working with Chief T’Selehye School in Fort Good Hope to offer a high school trades program for students aged 16+. Students who show great interest in the construction trades may be provided with opportunity to participate in the SNAP program, which is made for high school students to earn high school credits, while also earning hours towards their apprenticeship. This will depend on the availability of qualified tradespeople to supervise and train the students.  For more information, check out this information package.

Adult Trades Training Programs

  • KGHS partnered with Aurora College to offer a 3 month introductory course in Fort Good Hope to adults in the community in 2022, called the Building Trades Helper program. Three Fort Good Hope residents completed the program. In 2023, Aurora College offered a 15-week program in Fort Good Hope called the Introduction to Trades Training Program (ISTEP). 8 Fort Good Hope students completed the program, and 4 of these students continued onto more comprehensive trades programs in Fort Smith. For more information, check out the Aurora College program page.


Trades Awareness Program

 

  • KGHS has partnered with Chief T’Selehye School and Aurora College to send high school students to Fort Smith for a week of introductory trades programming, through a program called the Trades Awareness Program. This program is offered 2-3 times / year, and has been subsidized by Aurora College.


Trades Internships

 

  • Through a partnership with Ne’Rahten Developments Ltd., KGHS has been able to support short construction trades internship experiences for adults in Fort Good Hope.