Branden Bear - Muskoday First Nation. (submitted photo/Saskatchewan Apprenticeship and Trade Certification Commission)

By Ben Tompkins

2023 APPRENTICESHIP CELEBRATION

Multiple northeast locals win yearly trade awards and scholarships

Nov 7, 2023 | 4:38 PM

A handful of local trades members were recently recognized by the Saskatchewan Apprenticeship and Trade Certification Commission (SATCC).

This past Friday in Regina, the 2023 apprenticeship celebration dinner was held to acknowledge the accomplishments of apprentices, employers, training providers and other apprenticeship and trade stakeholders, from across the province.

The event included more than 50 winners from across Saskatchewan, who received awards and scholarships, as a total of three hailed from the northeast.

Avrom Ries from Humboldt, Blaise Assie from St. Brieux, and Branden Bear from Muskoday First Nation.

“I’m surprised and shocked; you go to work and everyone else is like, I didn’t get an award, I didn’t do this,” Bear told northeastNOW. “The award represented a lot more than it should have for me because I’ve been doing it for the last 10 years and it was a lot of perseverance over that time.”

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Bear received the SIIT (Saskatchewan Indian Institute of Technologies) Joint Training Committee Journeyperson’s Award, as a carpenter.

He explained he failed his certificate before and had to go back and rewrite it, which led him to study harder.

“It was a great deal of steps of overcoming a lot of personal stuff just to finish it, and instead of just quitting and going somewhere else, and getting paid more, I stuck through it and ended up getting the journeyperson, and honestly at work, it’s a huge relief,” said Bear.

“It’s a great weight lifted off the shoulders, and it’s an accomplishment that’s honestly the accomplishment of my life so far.”

Bear felt it was important to stay dedicated to his craft as if you start something you must finish it.

Also, if he had chosen to give up, he would have had to restart somewhere else.

Bear is quite proud of what he did, and felt that sense of camaraderie alongside the other winners, especially during the celebration.

“I felt honoured to be there because of the hard work that I put into studying and just getting that IP, and just the fact that other people were there getting that award, I knew that they studied just as hard to get that IP too,” he added.

“I wouldn’t be a carpenter if it wasn’t for my uncle and my dad. They built everything around me and I just wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for those guys, so I really appreciate everything they’ve done for me in my life.”

Meanwhile, RIes and Assie received the Outstanding New Journeypersons awards from the SATCC directly, as a carpenter and steamfitter-pipefitter, respectively.

Thirty journeypersons who achieved the highest mark on their trade’s certification exams between July 1, 2022, and June 30, 2023, received the Outstanding New Journeyperson award.

Eleven other awards and scholarships came from the SATCC, including the Apprenticeship Lifetime Achievement, Outstanding Instructor, and Saskatchewan Youth Apprenticeship Champion awards.

Twelve industry partners also issued their own awards and scholarships to apprentices and new journeypersons, just like Bear.

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