martinsworldofcarpentry

[martinsworldofcarpentry]

VCC - SCHOOL OF INSTRUCTORS EDUCATION 

[martinsworldofcarpentry]

Post #3 Social emotional learning and employability skills 

Social emotional learning is not a topic that comes to mind when you think of construction. But it plays a far greater role in getting employed and staying employed than many would think. The camaraderie and banter of a well established team or crew can be daunting to a new hire, unfortunately often leaving them somewhat isolated. Finding and establishing where you fit with the new team can make all the difference on continued employment. In my experience, if a person has the skills and can keep up to the rest of the crew, the crew will accommodate until the person finds there niche. Three things that go along way to making it easier is, Honesty, Respect, Communication. 

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Post #2 Trends in adult education {the flipped classroom}

In many ways, my perception of proper facilitating has been that I am here to help you learn. As I have read more about the flipped classroom, I have come to realize that my own personal style aligns with it. I have found that people retain better if they discover things on their own terms. The difficulty with this in my field of expertise, carpentry, is that tradespeople are not usually big on home study. My own modification, to allow for this aversion to homework, has been to have classroom time as more of a brain storming session. Then everyone goes to a more hands-on approach, that exposes errors and allows for people to correct themselves, often resulting in a far more cohesive team.

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Coming next... Trends in Adult Education 

[martinsworldofcarpentry]

Post #1 Trends in my field

Expertise in specialized areas of construction is a growing trend in my field. When I first wrote my papers as a carpenter, I was expected to competently perform most of the work necessary to build a home from an empty lot to occupancy. The most common sub- trades at that time were electrical and mechanical/plumbing. This has changed over the years, to over a dozen different trades\subcontractors. With in each of these different trades there are specialists for very specific parts of today's home. For example there are companies that only install one or two different types of countertops, what comes to mind is granite. Another specialized trade is the building envelope, with specialists in roofing, siding, or air movement and ventilation. This has dramatically changed the role of a general contractor and led to the disappearance of the well rounded tradesman.

https://www.forconstructionpros.com/business/business-services/article/12203012/why-specialization-may-be-more-profitable-for-construction-companies https://toolsarcade.com/tradesman-skill-development/

These two links go to articles that discuss many of the pros of becoming a specialized tradesman. The profit margin in a specialty can be substantial, if you have an excellent reputation in that specialty. One of the things that makes a specialty profitable, is the investment in the necessary equipment. The general contractor may not be willing to make this investment, for an occasional use. A specialist would be far more willing to invest in higher quality equipment to achieve an outstanding product. 

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coming next... trends in your field 

[martinsworldofcarpentry]

The Carpenter's life

Hi my name is Martin Hoffart. My ambition to become a carpenter started as a child. I decided to be a carpenter in grades four or five. When I told my dad, he just handed me the toolbox and said fly at it boy. He was never one to discourage especially if it meant less carpentry for him to do as mechanic and welder wood was not second nature to him. I started working construction in the late 1970s, wrote my red seal interprovincial papers during the spring of 1984. When I saw the word journey man I took the word journey quite literally and travelled across the continent. It was not until the spring of 1988 that I actually accepted my papers because I did not feel I had the experience to call myself a red seal carpenter.