If you want Old Colony carpentry students, get in line. Like many of the shops at the vocational school, the department is in high demand, and the five to six year backlog shows that people are willing to wait for the students’ work.

The upperclassman recently completed work on the Acushnet Grange, including new shingles and a handicap accessible ramp.

Carpentry teacher Doug Sims said, “The greatest thing about these projects is, number one the kids get real life experience. The other benefit is we get to do the work and there’s no cost to the school for the material.”

Municipalities and nonprofits may request work for students. Each organization must pay for the materials while the students and their teachers provide labor free of charge.

Getting out of the shop to work on building and renovation projects gives students practical, on the job experience that is invaluable to their education, said Sims.

At the Grange, a project that started last fall, the students have fortified the building to prevent air and moisture from getting inside, stripped off old shingles and replaced them, built a wheelchair ramp and reframed windows.

With only a six-hour workday and instruction along the way, the students' work does take longer than a contractor might. Plus, they don’t always get to use the easy option.

For the shingling, “They are all using hammers, not using nail guns so they develop those skills,” Sims explained. “It’s all skills they can take with them.”

Sims said some students already work with contractors through the co-op program where they also get plenty of experience.

Many carpentry graduates go on to Wentworth Technical Institute or  directly to work using the skills they’ve learned at Old Colony. Others join the carpentry union’s apprentice program.

“They really want our students because they come with training,” Sims said. “If the students want to work when they leave here … there’s definitely a need.”

Junior Paul Soucy has learned that first hand. He is already working for W.S. Bradford Company in Marion through co-op. The carpentry shop has been a good fit for him, he said.

“I’ve always been a hands-on person, since I was little,” said the Acushnet resident. “I like making something out of nothing.”

While he is planning to go to college after he graduates, Soucy values the skills he’s learning.

“I’ll always have the trade to fall back on,” said Soucy.

It’s not only the carpentry students who benefit from projects like the one at the Grange. Sims said projects are also great for the school as multiple shops contribute.

The auto CAD program designed the wheelchair ramp, the welding students will build the handrail for it, and the electrical department replaced all of the lights inside the building along with other work.

With the Grange finished, next year the students will have a fresh project to work on.

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