Some students at Chief Gabriel Cote Education Complex in Cotes will have the chance to create a tiny house through an initiative with Cote First Nation, Parkland College, the Saskatchewan Aboriginal Apprenticeship Initiative and Yorkton Tribal Council.
Around eight to 12 students will be taking part in the project and they have been selected to participate through an application process.
A submission for funding was submitted to the Saskatchewan Apprenticeship and Trade Certification Commission in July of 2018 and was approved in the fall.
The project is planned to begin in early February after students complete some classroom training. The completion date is penned for some time in June.
“There is some classroom time that will occur first, some safety ticket training,” says Bryon Langan, who is a pre-employment support advisor for Yorkton Tribal Council, as well as an organizer of the initiative. “This is so they are aware of some of the precautions with some of the tools that are going to be used.”
The program is designed to encourage students to think about the trades after high school, and then to bring those skills back to the community.
“It will give them (the students) a choice of going into a trade,” says Langan. “Whether it is carpentry, plumbing or electrical. Currently there is such a shortage in trades, so the eight or 12 students will gain hours to a trade and transfer those hours to go to a trade of their choice.”
Once the house is complete, Yorkton Tribal Council leadership will choose who the house will be given to. Langan hopes this could be the beginning to resolving a housing crisis amongst the Yorkton Tribal Council community.
He adds that when the students have the opportunity to watch something they create come to fruition, it allows them to be proud of their work.
The house will feature solar power to assist in keeping utility costs low.
The project will launch Jan. 28, with an information session and lunch.
(PHOTO: A tiny home. File photo.)