Recently, we had the opportunity to share our craft with a couple of groups of high school juniors, seniors, and graduates who participate in the Minnesota Trades Academy. This program tours local union trades’ training centers, where the students spend the day getting their hands dirty, experiencing a brief taste of what it is to be a member of each trade.

These visits coincided with our current Pre-Apprenticeship Session, allowing our pre-apprentices to share their knowledge, skills, and experience over the last four weeks of intensive hands-on training at our facility. Our pre-apprentices saw an immediate boost in confidence as they recognized how far they’ve come in such a short time, teaching each visiting student the basics of trowel handling, spreading mortar, and laying brick to the line. These interactions are a taste of what apprenticeship is all about; passing the know-how of our trade from craftworker to future craftworker, as we have for hundreds of years.