January 19, 2016
Manitoba Government, Frontier School Division Building Homes, Expanding Construction Training Opportunities
– – –Students to Build Eight Family Homes to be Located in Northern Communities: Minister Saran
The Manitoba government and Frontier School Division are partnering to expand training opportunities in northern Manitoba by building eight new family homes over the next four years, Housing and Community Development Minister Mohinder Saran announced today.
"Through this initiative, students will get to work on projects and earn apprenticeship training while building homes for families,” said Minister Saran. “By expanding opportunities for skills training, we are helping students make a real difference in northern Manitoba.”
The Frontier School Division serves much of northern Manitoba including communities in the regions around Thompson, Dauphin, Cranberry Portage and Norway House areas. The new partnership includes support for the construction of two new family homes per year for the next four years. The eight new homes may include ready-to-move (RTM) homes, modular style housing, site-built new construction or additions to existing homes.
Frontier Collegiate Institute and the Northern Technical Centre in Cranberry Portage offer a building construction carpentry program. Students will earn hours toward their Level 1 and 2 carpentry apprenticeship on these projects while also completing regular high school courses.
The minister noted two new homes, one RTM and one site-built, are currently under construction for Cormorant in the 2015/16 school year. The ready-to-move home is being built at the division’s off-campus facility located at Egg Lake, south of Cranberry Portage, which hosts an engaged learners program that offers alternative educational opportunities for students aged 15 to 21.
“Each new home built by our students will be located in a community served by Frontier School Division,” said Reg Klassen, chief superintendent. “This will help strengthen ties, provide economic opportunities and address the need for quality family housing. But most exciting of all, is that each new home is a demonstration of how local students’ education and training can benefit their home communities.”
In 2012, the Manitoba government partnered with Frontier School Division to build two RTM three-bedroom bungalows, now home to families with low- to moderate-incomes in Cranberry Portage. This partnership has provided more than 50,000 hours of direct carpentry training to more than 100 students.
“This program is engaging students and capturing their interest, helping them stay in school and learn marketable skills that will make a real difference in their lives,” said Minister Saran. “I look forward to seeing these completed homes for families in need in communities across the north.”
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