After an absence of a couple of years, the Supervisor Training Program or (STP), made its return to the FTI in Surrey BC, last week .
The reason for this program not being delivered for some time was due to the fact that the original course, although still valuable, needed to go through a comprehensive rewrite due to changes that have occurred in the past few years in the construction industry. The new program was delivered to 20, DC 38 lead hands, foremen, contractors and young journeymen who our contractors had selected as potential foremen. The course was taught over two days and was well received by many in the class saying that it is something we needed to run more regularly.
This very extensive course consisted of 13 modules, covering a wide array of topics. Everything from leadership and mentoring to planning and scheduling, teamwork and communication to understanding costs and labour relations was covered along with many more important subjects. Every individual we spoke to at the end of the class said it was something that should not only be delivered to more journey persons but that aspects of the course should be incorporated into our regular apprenticeship programs.
Bob Swanson, former President of Swanson and Young Painting based out of Minnesota, was the lead instructor for this class. He was ably assisted by Jeff Blyth and Simon Hazelwood both from DC 46 in Ontario. Bob, Jeff and Simon all commented on how impressed they were with the overall caliber of the students in this class and remarked about their willingness to jump into the training with both feet.
It is our intention to run this program much more frequently and also to introduce even more of the programs being developed at the FTI International with regard to leadership.