Free tuition for masonry pre-apprentice program at Algonquin College Perth
Algonquin College’s Perth Campus will launch its Brick and Stone Mason Pre-apprenticeship Program starting March 23, 2020. The 34-week program offers in-class essential learning, in-lab practical experience including restoration masonry and a work placement. Tuition is free for eligible learners; this Pre-Apprenticeship Training Program is funded by the Government of Ontario.
During in-class lessons, students will get familiar with the masonry program and prepare for job readiness in this field. Practical instruction will include lectures from industry representatives and site visits. In the shop environment, students will learn hands-on restoration techniques and heritage stonemasonry as well as fieldwork projects. The last two months of the program offer a paid work placement in a masonry environment.
The program is open to a wide spectrum of “eligible learners:’ criteria include:
- Graduated from high school
- Left before finishing high school
- Are unemployed or underemployed
- Are indigenous, a woman, a newcomer, or a youth
Christ Hahn, Dean of Perth Campus of Algonquin College, said, “Repairing, rehabilitating, and maintaining brick and stone structures isn’t just a matter of mixing some mortar and slapping in a few bricks; it’s a skilled trade which requires knowledge of masonry technology and materials as well as sensitivity to the architecture of the time.”
He invited learners to “Come and take this program and learn the art and craft of masonry and carve out a career for yourself as a mason.”