It’s not so many years ago that carpentry was an almost exclusively a male dominated trade. Women that happened to be on construction sites were generally visitors or not working directly in the trades but these days the construction trades have a new look. Although construction sites are still predominantly male, it’s not that unusual...Read More

Many students have graduated from the Carpentry program over the years, but it is always a great pleasure to hear about the successes of any one of those grads. Recently we were happy to see Geordie Hottot return to the Centre to prepare for his examinations to become a Journeyman Carpenter. This means that he...Read More

One definition of “polymath” is – a person of wide ranging knowledge or learning. The carpenter is just such a person. We are inclined to picture the carpenter with hammer or saw in hand gleefully cutting or nailing lumber while framing a new house, but his or her skill set is much larger than that....Read More

I started as a drafting student in the New Frontiers School Board seventeen years ago. I found the course challenging and very rewarding. The teachers were knowledgeable, they prepared informative lessons and they gave one-on-one time when it was needed. I enjoyed my time at school very much. After completion of the course I quickly...Read More

I needed a new challenge in my life – I wanted to go out with a big “BANG” before I retire. I wanted to make a difference in my life, by helping others. It gives me a sense of gratification when I can assist in meeting the needs of an individual; to see a smile...Read More

We encourage students to complete the Landscaping Operations program as well as the Horticulture and Garden Centre Operations program. Each program has specialties yet both programs complement and complete training for an ever more demanding industry. Here is the story of Shannon DeRosier who completed both programs. “Having raised my children to where they can...Read More

My journey with the New Frontiers School Board did not start here at the Chateauguay Valley Career Education Centre. I am a graduate of the Secretarial Program at NOVA Career Centre, and completed a contract with them not too long after receiving my diploma. In early September, I joined the CVCEC team and soon noticed...Read More

In February, CVCEC entered the Regional Skills Olympics. Two carpentry students and two teachers participated in the event. Training the students and bringing them to the competition was a great learning opportunity. I sat on the organizational board of experts to design the tasks to be accomplished at the competition. On that same board was,...Read More

One of our four Carpentry groups just finished the floor framing module! This is the first of the three framing modules. It is followed by wall framing and roof framing. It is during this period that students learn about the techniques needed to build the structure of a house. Many students dream of building their...Read More

As we begin the month of March and having witnessed the installation of the “Our House” prefabricated housing units on the job site, the drafting students from the Residential and Commercial drafting program here at CVCEC were very familiar with the house because they drew a version of it in their Multi-Family dwellings course. The...Read More