Our Apprentice Program: Paid On-the-Job Training for Aspiring Cabinet Makers
Hay Runner’s cabinet shop in Rockport, in partnership with EducateMaine, is excited to offer a new approach to bringing in the next generation of woodworkers. Starting this September, our apprentice program will combine paid on-the-job training with an intentional curriculum to integrate aspiring cabinet makers into the trades.
by Rachel Davis, Hay Runner, Rockport Millwork Division Foreman
Unlike fifty years ago, kids aren’t growing up with a garage full of tools at their disposal. Those parents that spent evenings and weekends tinkering and fixing, building and repairing are endangered species. Fewer homeowners are tackling house projects themselves and even fewer have the skill sets and tools to attempt them. This means kids aren’t growing up searching for the right size wrenches to hand to their dads, or learning how to use elbow grease and leverage to their advantage.
Integration into the trades by osmosis seems like it is in the past. YouTube is full of instructional videos and hacks but it doesn’t teach the mind-set, determination and tenacity that develops when we see first hand the transformation of a bathroom renovated or the miracle of a broken car repaired. Furthermore, over the last thirty years, the emphasis placed on a college education as the key to success has done us all a disservice. We have missed out on a generation of trades people and they have missed out on a sustainable and satisfying career.
Although there is a shortage of incoming workers today, there is an increasing interest among women in the trades and a realization that they have many of the skill sets that make a good carpenter, electrician or welder. As the industry grows and changes there is a clear need to find new ways to bring in young people and adapt to their evolving learning styles.
Here at the Cabinet Shop in Rockport, in partnership with EducateMaine, we are excited to offer a new approach to bringing in the next generation of woodworkers. Starting this September, our apprentice program will combine paid on-the-job training with an intentional curriculum to integrate aspiring cabinet makers into the trades.
Over the course of three years (6,000 hours), in a specially designed training program, apprentices will learn the foundations of woodworking and cabinetry, high-end casework, millwork, window and door production, and finally installation, all while being a contributing member of the shop team. In addition, proper tool and material identification, application, and maintenance, shop safety policies and procedures, and company systems will be covered in the curriculum.
Apprentices will receive supplemental training instruction at Hay Runner and through local education providers including the Center For Furniture Craftmanship. Apprentices will also earn their OSHA 10 Safety Certificate. Upon completion, they will be awarded a certificate through the state of Maine.
To apply you must be 18 or older, have reliable transportation, capable of 8+ hours of physical labor and activity, and highly motivated. For further information please contact Rachel at rachel.davis@hayrunner.com or go to https://www.hayrunner.com/were-hiring to submit an application.