Indigenous students pour a concrete basement for a good cause

THUNDER BAY — Ten pre-apprenticeship students from Anishinabek Employment and Training Services (AETS) are participating in an Indigenous workforce development partnership with LiUNA Local 607 Training Centre.

The students poured a concrete foundation for an in-progress Habitat for Humanity home last week, learning valuable skills all while supporting the community.

James Lowe is the cement finishing instructor at LiUNA Local 607 and said students will be ready for day one at the job site after this course.

“They're going to know which tools to use, when to use them, why to use them, so we're not throwing them in the pan, running in blind,” Lowe said.

The students practiced with false concrete, which prepared them for the live concrete pour on Wednesday.

“It was their first time using an overhead pump. A1 Concrete supplied the pump and the concrete.

“It went down fantastic, just like I was pouring with the pros back at my old job,” he said.

Student Sheldon Nobis was part of the concrete pour.

“It was awesome because we got here and we had a game plan. We practiced before we came here, and then today we laid it out and everything worked, no accidents, everything worked out.”

Nobis was excited to be able to help out Habitat for Humanity while learning his skills.

“It feels really great because everybody's learning something. Things are getting accomplished and it's an awesome feeling,” he said.

Matthew Stephens, build coordinator for Habitat for Humanity, said the non-profit organization is always looking for help from all different trades.

“I needed some help with some concrete finishing, and I reached out to LiUNA, and they graciously offered to help us out today.”

Stephens was happy to see the students ‘right in there’ helping each other out.

“It's fantastic because in this job, you need hands-on experience; you can only get so much from the classroom. They were all working hard, and they did a really good job at the end of the day. We're really happy and we really appreciate the help,” he said.