New Syrian Immigrants Become DC 38 Painting Apprentices

By July 14, 2017NEWS

This week we have had the pleasure of welcoming some special new apprentices to the DC 38 family.

Park and Derochie (Seaside), who is one of our largest Industrial Painting contractors, approached Painting Representative Justin Chapman, with a new and unique opportunity. Through the BC Alliance for Manufacturing, Park and Derochie (Seaside), was able to identify former citizens of Syria who had worked previously in construction trades in their former homeland. These individuals were presented as hard working, honest and reliable people who were looking for an opportunity to prove their worth and to make a new life for themselves in Canada.

Seven individuals, along with their interpreter, Manal Nour, have spent the past week receiving their safety certifications, as well some hands on training in paint prep, in advance of their starting with our contractor on Monday.

Both Safety Director Andrew Swan and Painting Representative Justin Chapman had some extremely positive things to say about the work ethic, and the ability to grasp information and retain it, that these individuals displayed. They also made mention of their gratitude, politeness and willingness to help one another with their assigned tasks.

While walking through our facility, one of the Syrian trainees got extremely excited when he saw our Drywall Finishing students at work. It turns out that he had worked as a Drywall Finisher in Syria for 15 years. Being a member of DC 38, he will have the opportunity to move to the Drywall program if he so chooses at a later date.

We will be exploring the possibility of bringing in additional Syrian workers in the coming weeks, as one of our Hazardous Materials Abatement Contractors, Enviro-Vac environmental, has also expressed an interest in giving these individuals an opportunity to work in the Hazmat field.

DC 38 and the Finishing Trades Institute of BC is proud to be involved in programs such as these. Apart from some language issues, we are certain that these new apprentices have all the tools necessary to succeed in our industries. We look forward to assisting more new immigrants in finding a better life here in Canada.