The Building Futures for Youth program is designed for students interested in construction trades, including but not limited to those in Options and Opportunities (O2), Co-operative Education, or Skilled Trades courses. Students not currently enrolled in Co-op or O2 must be committed and able to complete a 25-hour pre-placement component. Speak to your teacher for more information. You must be:

• In grade 10 or 11
• 16 years of age by May 1^st of your enrollment year

October – December: Online applications are open

January: Due date for interview requirements (Resume, References, Interests)

February – March: Virtual interviews

April: Family information sessions

May – June: NSCC safety training

July – August: Work placements begin

September: Participant feedback & BFY Day celebration

*Please note that attendance is mandatory at all meetings, workshops and training. Failure to attend will result in removal from the program.

BFY students will:

• Gain broad exposure to tools, equipment, and practices used in the construction trades.
• Receive support in identifying career goals and planning transitions to post-secondary education or employment.
• Participate in safety-focused, hands-on training tailored to the construction industry.
• Learn about the apprenticeship model and receive up to 300 apprenticeship hours.
• Explore a variety of career paths within the construction sector.
• Experience learning at NSCC, including exposure to its programs, faculty, and facilities.
• Connect with role models and potential mentors in the trades.
• Earn up to three high school co-op credits.
• Potentially register as a Youth Apprentice, with paid work hours credited toward apprenticeship requirements under the Department of Labour and Advanced Education guidelines.
• Complete up to seven weeks of paid work placement.
• Receive certification in Fall Protection and Scaffolding Awareness through Construction Safety Nova Scotia.
• Obtain training evaluations from NSCC.
• Receive a final workplace evaluation from their employer.
• Be awarded a Certificate of Participation from CANS upon successful completion of the program.

BFY students will benefit from:

• Exposure to the construction industry and a range of trades occupations
• Safety training tailored to construction work environments
• A foundational understanding of the apprenticeship model, including up to earning 300 apprenticeship hours.
• Hands-on experience with NSCC programs, faculty, and facilities
• Up to three high school co-op credits for their participation
• Paid work placement for up to seven weeks
• Scholarship opportunities through NSCC

Students complete a safety course at their local NSCC campus, which includes:

• Online training in WHMIS, OH&S, and First Aid/CPR prior to arrival
• NSCC Construction Safety Awareness Certificates (e.g., eye safety, shop skills, working around heavy equipment, tool identification, introduction to hand tools, and more)
• NSCSA Certificates in Fall Protection and Hazard Identification and Control
• CANS administered Workplace Expectations

Students are equipped with CSA-approved hard hats, safety vests, glasses, gloves, and boots before beginning their placement.

Registration for the BFY program costs the student $0. The program is free.

Please note: If transportation supports are available prior to the work placement, they are facilitated by your Youth Pathways Consultant. Specific details are available from them. Once students begin the work placement, they are responsible for their own transportation. While participating in any aspect of the BFY program, students are not allowed to carry passengers in their personal vehicles; operate employer or customer vehicles; or use their personal vehicles for work purposes.

Just like any entry level worker, BFY students are trades helpers who can assist in multiple ways. Past students have held their own with roofing crews, working at heights with a lanyard. Our student have been assigned client projects in welding shops, worked with outdoor crews laying pipe or digging fence post holes, or pulling cable to wire a new residential building. Our youth are capable of more than merely cleaning and organizing, but they come to work with the right attitude and expecting manual labour.

BFY students are also co-op students, which mean that they are prohibited from operating a vehicle during work hours, even for simple tasks such as pulling a truck around to be loaded with materials. They are responsible for getting themselves to and from work each day, but some may be relying on a drive to drop them off/pick them up; traveling to various sites throughout the day may require they be able to travel with another worker.

It’s important to remember that BFY students are still in high school, and not at the same experience level as a post-secondary graduate apprentice. With the exception of safety gear, many may not own their own tools. However, what they lack in experience they make up for in attitude; our students are eager to learn and looking for a challenge!

We strive very hard to ensure that Host Employers are not overwhelmed by administrative paperwork. Anything that comes from the BFY program itself is streamlined for ease of use and consists mostly of a two-sided document at the beginning of the agreement, and another to evaluate the completion of it.

As the students are also earning co-operative credit courses for high school, there are a few more forms that their teacher will require be filled out. These are generally done at the initial in-person meeting to begin the summer placement, and the teacher will assist.

If you apply for a wage subsidy, there will be additional forms required. However, those are also created to be very user friendly and take little effort to complete.

The BFY program does not dictate wages, the Employer does. Since students are not only earning a paycheque for their labour, but also gaining co-op and pre-apprenticeship credits, they are instructed to view minimum wage as fair. However, we ask Employers to consider the type of labour students are asked to do and pay fair market wages accordingly.

The work placement takes place during the high school summer break of July and August. Students may not start before the first week of July but could begin a little later if a flexible start date is required. 

Approximately 200-220 hours of on-the-job hours complete the program, but individual work schedules will vary. Some students may complete the program in as little as five full time 40-hour weeks, while others may need longer. Even when the program requirements are met, the employer and student do not need to part ways if continued employment is mutually agreed upon.