Train for Trades also has its own sub-contractors (previously provided by Newfoundland Labrador Housing Corporation). One of the unique features of the sub-contracting partnership is that if a youth is interested in a particular field (i.e. plumbing or electrical) they can shadow the sub-contractor when they are on site to learn more about it. This can help a youth make an informed decision about whether to pursue that as a career option.

“They’ve got their own sub-contractors, their own electricians and their own plumbers. The stage that the electricians and plumbers come into play is after you do the framing and an inspector comes in and inspects it.  Then an electrician or a plumber will come in and move the pipes and do up the boxes and all that stuff. So, when they come in to do that, if you want to go in for electrical or plumbing, they’ll set you up with the electrician for the day. He’ll bring you down into the basement and show you what he does and he’ll get you to do it. He’ll get you the hands-on training and get you the feel of it to see if you actually like that trade and if you want to go in for it. I was thinking about carpentry. Then when I got here, I actually got hands-on with carpentry. They were able to set me up [with an] electrician as well. So I was able to get hands on with both and that helped me decide over the two, which one I wanted to go with.” — Brad, age 22, Tier 2 participant, Train for Trades

Homeless Hub Thoughts:

Train for Trades has an incredibly low staff to client ratio (about 1 staff to every 2.5 youth roughly). This means that the cost per participant is high compared to many other programs. The level of staffing provided however, matches the level of support required in the Intensive Case Management process. It does make it difficult to sustain in the long run unless the project brings in enough revenue.

Programs may seek opportunities to partner with existing agencies to increase the level of support they can provide to participants. Alternatively, they may need to adjust their support goals to match their staffing ratio.