Sunday, November 23, 2025

Kickstart Your Apprenticeship!

Build your career and upgrade your skills with CLAC

This October, seven eager participants took part in CLAC’s Construction Bootcamp, a hands-on training experience offered through the Kickstart Your Apprenticeship program. This two-week course gave participants the chance to learn, build, and gain confidence as they prepared to start careers in construction.

Each participant was provided with their own set of essential PPE and learned the foundations of construction health and safety. They practiced using both hand and power tools, developed math skills for the job site, and learned about workplace hazards and clear communication. Along the way, participants also earned key safety certifications, including Working at Heights, Mobile Elevated Work Platforms, and WHMIS.

Guided by their instructors, the participants worked as a crew to complete a variety of carpentry-related projects, putting new skills to use in a construction setting. Their instructors were impressed by their enthusiasm, commitment to learning, and working safely. By the end of the program, every participant successfully completed their training. For many, this marked the beginning of their journey toward a career in construction as a construction craft labourer.

The Kickstart Your Apprenticeship program continues to make an impact beyond offering just CLAC Construction Bootcamp to only a small group of individuals. To date, it has helped more than 100 individuals strengthen their essential skills in communication and numeracy, access free safety training with certifications, and connect with experienced mentors who guide them toward a trade that matches their interests and skills.

All these training and skills development opportunities were made possible through Ontario’s Skills Development Fund. CLAC is proud to support entry-level workers and new apprentices as they prepare for rewarding careers in the skilled trades through this program. With additional sessions for CLAC’s Construction Bootcamp planned for 2026, CLAC will continue to provide high quality training and skills development opportunities.

Go to clac.ca/kickstart to learn more.

(Top) Lamin Yaffa, Taranjeet Singh, Mike Kamminga (CLAC Jobs coordinator), Russell Alder (Bootcamp instructor), Adegbenga Omotade (Bottom) Tengfei Shao, Yifan Yang, Igwe Udokporo

Kickstart Your Apprenticeship!

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