on, they realized the quality of industry training was generally lacking innovation, this actually partly inspired the creation of Hinton Scaffold Solutions to begin with. “Scaffolding is not a recognized Red Seal trade across Canada,” Brandon explains. “Although the performance is heavily regulated, in many cases it’s what we call ‘industry regulated’ with high standards of safety requirements. This means any general contractor can build scaffold for their task, like painting a ceiling. Legislation dictates that a “competent” person performs the task, however, how competent is determined isn’t defined specifically. But there are inherent dangers in taking this on, particularly as scaffolds become more complex.” “We follow an international standard from the SAIA, which is based in the U.S. Many Canadian labour groups and associations use this program as it has worldwide recognition. This follows a typical journeyperson-to-apprentice relationship and over many years of training. Trade unions generally also have robust programs built around scaffold that are included in their trade specific training, like carpentry.” Unfortunately, for most of the history of the scaffolding industry in Canada, Brandon says there previously “wasn’t much else” in terms of training or pre-apprentice programs or training for the average user. That’s why, when the pandemic struck and in-person training became infeasible, they buckled down and worked with the Ministry of Labour and Government of Canada to kick-off RISE. THE CONSTRUCTION SOURCE CANADA
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