A young man who has planted thousands of trees for years has turned to the profession of carpenter-joiner, which is on the list of jobs for the future by Emploi-Québec, to build his career.
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“I had a taste for construction when I was planting 2,000 trees a day with my hands. I realized that I liked working outside. I also had the dream of building my own house,” says Jean-François Picard, 34, a student at the École des métiers de la construction de Montréal (EMCM).
By 2025, all regions will lack carpenters, except Abitibi-Témiscamingue and Gaspésie, according to Emploi-Québec.
At the Commission de la construction du Québec (CCQ), we note the “significant aging” and the “insufficient graduates” of the sector, a godsend for Jean-François Picard, who has the bite for this profession.
“When I come to school, I feel like the early days when I was five or six years old and I was very excited to see my friends. We learn new things every day. It goes quickly,” he says.
Complete profession
A stone’s throw from him, his teacher, Scott Etenson, who has his construction company Gestion JSR, has a lot to say about the profession that drives him.
“It’s a trade that allows you to touch everything, from construction from start to finish, from the foundation to the erection of the walls, from the installation of the roof to the interior finish”, explains the man.
“It’s not redundant. It allows me to touch so many things in a house that it allows me not to be jaded,” he smiles.
In recent years, Scott Etenson has built many houses to the point where he felt the need to breathe a little while spending more time with his wife and children, so he turned to teaching.
“I discovered a passion. In another life, I would have been a hockey coach,” laughs the man, who worked in the FTQ-Construction union to promote carpenter-joiner training.
Today, he encourages young people bursting with energy to go for it, provided they are ready to make the necessary efforts to carve out a place for themselves.
When asked if the young people who leave his class earn a good living, he replies that you can get $40,000 or $45,0000 and even a good $100,000 with experience.
“You have to prepare them well for the job market,” he concludes.
–With the collaboration of Charles Mathieu
Last year, there were 194.5 million hours worked in the construction industry, according to the Commission de la construction du Québec (CCQ). This is a 20% increase compared to 2020, again according to CCQ.
