#008 – ‘HELP US BUILD ONTARIO’ – that’s a banner headline from a recent full-page advertisement in the Toronto Star newspaper, by the Carpenters’ District Council of Ontario. It points to the widening gap and growing crisis that is affecting not only Ontario, but trades all across Canada.
Taking up the challenge to change the tide and seeking the Shalom– the total wellbeing of person, community, and nation – is this episode’s guest Shawn Stuart, founder/director of Organized Kaos (aka OK) – an apprenticeship program for youth 13-17 year olds, offering a safe environment in which young people work and learn alongside skilled trades persons from local churches.
Topics discussed in this episode:
In the episode we explore how faith and the trades come together at Organized Kaos, a unique faith-based organization based in Brantford, Ontario. It is there that young people are being apprenticed in life and trades. In conversation with Shawn, he explains how OK projects create common ground between young people and mentors that break down barriers, leaving space to teach life and employability skills, faith, and the trades, an how it is inspiring hope, purpose, and meaning in their lives.
During the podcast Shawn shares:
- His personal journey to the trades and how OK came about
- What brings the youth to Organized Kaos and why they stay?
- Why is there a stigma about the trades?
- The important role that mentors play: the kind of person they are and what they bring
- How to build connections and the joy of earning rewards
- Ok’s training centres and a window view into a typical week
- How graduating out of OK is a way back in!
- How local churches are crucial to the work
- How Organized Kaos is organized: the role of staff and volunteers
- What’s the right kind context for sharing the faith?
- A vision for replicating OK’s apprenticeship model
[*Please see audio player for chapter markers and time stamps*]
Links mentioned in this podcast:
- Organized Kaos – a Christian based organized apprenticing young people in life and the trades
- Buildforce Canada – assist the construction industry with its management of workforce requirements by providing reliable labour market information, tools and resources.
- McLean’s Magazine – a Canadian national current affairs and news magazine
- For more information on the emerging trades crisis, see Royal Bank of Canada’s RBC Thought Leadership article titled, Powering Up: Preparing Canada’s skilled trades for a post-pandemic economy.
Listen on Apple Podcasts. Listen on Spotify. Listen on Google Podcasts. Listen on Amazon Music. Listen on iHeartRadio
Thanks for listening. If you haven’t already, please hit the subscribe button so you don’t miss out on future episodes.