Carpentry is back in St David’s through a reinstated training initiative.

The Woodworks Carpentry Training Centre at Southside, has reopened with a fresh new approach after an eight-month hiatus.

The workshop, run by master carpenters Alma Hunt and Quinton Burrows, has been open for five years, offering training to students referred to them by various government departments, including Child and Family Services and Probation Services. They have also taught community education classes.

Due to financial pressures, the centre has been closed for the last eight months. Thanks to support from various groups, including the Department of Workforce Development, The Youth Entrepreneurship Initiative, Bermuda Land Development Corporation (BLDC), and private donors, they have developed a new approach.

“We want to train Bermuda’s next generation of carpenters,” said Mr Hunt. “Bermuda had an incredible woodworking history, from boat building to our unique Bermuda roofs, but the trade has been slowly dying. Woodworks was set up as a training centre, and with the recent support we’ve received, I feel optimistic that we will be able to move forward and do our part to help rebuild the trade.”

Woodworks is introducing two main programmes. For students interested in a career in carpentry, the City and Guilds Carpentry Certification and Entrepreneurship Class will run three days a week for two years. Students will earn a Level 2 certification and will also be coached in entrepreneurship, via a partnership with local charity Youth Entrepreneurship Initiative. Each student will produce and market a woodworking product.

“A lot of times students drop out of school because they need to work, so we wanted to show them how they can turn their learning into income and will help them to sell their products,” said Mr Hunt.

The school will use mainly reclaimed wood from old pallets, discarded wooden furniture and offcuts of lumber as a way to both reduce their supply expenses and environmental footprint.

Woodworks will also offer a series of one and two-day classes to teach basic woodworking and will also provide access to the facility for woodworking hobbyists and working carpenters.

“We’ll be teaching folks how to use the machinery safely, and helping them to create products they can use, like cutting boards and picture frames. Also, many people have basic woodworking skills but don’t have access to equipment like ours, so we’ll be offering weekly ‘Open Shop’ and facility membership.”

All of the offerings have fees attached to ensure that the facility can stay open, but they are hoping that for the City and Guilds certification, they’ll be able to offer some scholarships to ensure no interested student is turned away.

In the future, Mr Hunt hopes to partner with the Ministry of Education, to provide teacher training in woodworking to Design and Technology teachers, as well as offer short-term courses for tradespersons already working in the field.

“The carpentry trade has been very good to Quinton and I,” said Mr Hunt. “We both ran successful businesses for decades, and always wanted to ensure we passed the trade on. With the current economic climate, the country needs to be focused on providing training that will create jobs and build sustainability. Woodworks is taking this on for the carpentry field. That’s our part. We’re proud to do our part.”

The City and Guilds Certification will be geared towards students aged 18 to 35 and those interested should contact Woodworks and attend an information session at The Department of Workforce Development on Thursday, (April 3) from 9.30am to 10.30am.

An Intro to Carpentry and Workshop Safety class will be held on Saturday (April 5) from 1pm to 4pm. This intro class is required for anyone seeking to access the one and two-day courses and the facility. Students will get hands-on instruction in how to use the machinery safely and the cost is $65.

For more information or to register see woodworksbda@gmail.com or call The Collaborative management firm at 705-1838.