23-05-2025
- Business
- Winnipeg Free Press
Sponsored Content Program offers a promising future
As soon as Anfernee Clarke learned about the Pre-Apprentice Bricklayer Program being offered by First Peoples Development Inc. he was intrigued.
A decade ago an 18-year-old Clarke started working in the construction industry doing concrete work. He loved the physical nature of the work but a back injury he suffered five years ago forced him to temporarily put that career on hold and seek out other employment opportunities.
I like to build things and have a goal in mind when I'm doing that.
Now fully healed, he learned about FPDI's bricklayer program late last year and wasted no time applying. He was one of 12 people who were part of the program's initial cohort of students when it was launched this past January.
'I made up my mind pretty quickly (about applying),' he says.
'The way they described the program and what to expect, I thought I want to give this a shot.'
The Pre-Apprentice Bricklayer Program is offered through FPDI, a non-profit organization that facilitates partnerships to help develop and deliver training-to-employment programs to meet labour market needs. It was designed in conjunction with Bricklayers Union Local 1 to give Indigenous people training in employment readiness, safety, and construction skills to facilitate a direct pathway to apprenticeship and employment in the construction industry.
The bricklayer program runs for a total of 23 weeks. Students receive two weeks of workforce readiness instruction followed by a week of safety training including lessons on First Aid, flagging and Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS) standards. That is followed by 20 weeks of pre-apprenticeship classroom and practical training at.
For Clarke, it's an opportunity to learn first-hand the skills needed to pursue his dream of a career in construction.
'I like to build things and have a goal in mind when I'm doing that,' he explains.
One of the things Clarke likes most about the bricklayer program is that it provides plenty of opportunities to gauge his progress as he moves through the curriculum.
'I like learning from my mistakes and I make a lot of them,' he says, laughing.
'It's great just seeing the improvement (he's made). I've been in the shop for a couple of months now and I'm way better now than when I first started. I finished a wall today and got my instructor to look at it. He said I did a helluva job, and it's a big step up from when I first started.'
As part of the FPDI program, students receive classroom and hands-on practical training at MBTI's headquarters on McPhillips Street.
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Instruction is delivered by members of the Bricklayers Local No. 1 union who are eager to share their wealth of experience with newcomers like Clarke.
'The instructor I have is great. He's very patient and he know his stuff. He's been doing bricklaying for about 40-plus year. Whenever he tells me how to do this or that, I just shut up and listen,' he says, laughing.
'Both myself and everyone else (in the class) have learned a lot from him over the months we've been there. We've still got lots more to learn and I'm looking forward to that.'
Clarke and his classmates will receive their Level 1 apprentice bricklayer accreditation in June once they have completed 800 hours of training. They will then take part in a three-month work placement this summer.
Clarke is excited about his future in the industry. 'I'm definitely looking forward to it. (This work) requires a lot of patience and it's not easy, to be honest with you. But once you get it down, you're looking at a very promising future, not just for yourself, but for the people you care about.'
