Tool Library Launches Job Readiness Program

The Saint John Tool Library wants to help fill the need for construction workers in the region.

The library launched a job readiness program Monday at its new training centre on Princess Street.

Brent Harris, the founder of the tool library, said the program will be aimed at people facing barriers to employment.

“We’ll be offering four training modules: working with concrete, roofing, general carpentry, and drywall and crack-filling,” Harris said.

Harris said Saint John is reinventing itself and it is being fueled by a construction boom, particularly in the uptown core.

But he said there is a pressing need in the construction industry for a timely, available and reliable workforce.

“General labourers continue to be one of the most in-demand jobs, according to Stats Can, with large vacancies that continue to go unfilled,” said Harris.

“With fewer schools offering shop classes and a smaller percentage of young people pursuing trades as a career, we simply do not have the available workforce in Saint John with basic skillsets that we need in the construction industry.”

Applications are now open for the Sawhorse Program and Harris said they hope to train 50 people in the next year.

Successful graduates will be connected with one of several companies in the region who are looking for labourers, he said.

The Saint John Tool Library launched three years ago as a grassroots initiative aimed at inspiring, equipping and revitalizing neighbourhoods.

Harris said they wanted to make sure residents had access to the tools and training they needed to fix and maintain their homes and support their neighbours along the way.