The program focuses on the use of native woods and a range of skills needed by the industry now. Several Island wood products companies on a special advisory committee help ensure the program is headed in the right direction. It is a course that demands hard work. Students mass-produce wood products during the course, to get a feel for the techniques and challenges of the manufacturing processes. The end product could be a clock or a side table and illustrates the wide range of possibilities in a chunk of red alder, maple, fir or hemlock.
Field trips provide students with the opportunity to see real enterprises in action.
Ramsden said the group goes out, on average, every two weeks during the 10 month course. The trips are all over the Island and include visits to sawmills, re-man companies, door and window frame manufacturers, kitchen cabinet manufacturers and specialty product companies. After the first year, graduates may find employment as equipment or process operators in a wood products company. A second year program continues the learning process with additional courses on computer-aided design, kiln operation and integrated product development. A graduate of the second year of the program may find employment as a supervisory trainee.