July 16, 2024 (Chilliwack, BC) – Bruce Hoch is a Red Seal carpenter with a full plate of commitments when it comes to his trades career. As an apprentice, he accessed the services of the Coast Capital Road to Red Seal (RRS) program, who worked with him to complete his Red Seal certification.
Hoch successfully acquired his carpentry Red Seal certification last November. Now, he finds himself in the final stages of completing his builder license. His current schedule includes the rebuilding of properties and structures following wildfire activity, abatement work, as well as siding projects, to name a few. Even with a full plate, Hoch is continuing to apply for additional contracts and has plans to open an additional third—and possibly fourth—shop in the near future.
“People say I go beyond the max of a normal person,” joked Hoch, who was appropriately at work and in transit for the duration of the interview. “I’m just riding the wave at the moment.”
Hoch was initially introduced to RRS through program manager, Michelle Anderlini. The two discussed and determined the barriers and challenges that were preventing him from achieving certification. Hoch was brought into the RRS program and provided with support and guidance from the program team.
Together with the RRS team, Hoch navigated learning barriers related to comprehension that had previously deterred him in years past from completing the required exams needed for his apprenticeship.
The Coast Capital Road to Red Seal program offers support to apprentices by providing the tools necessary to achieve success. These tools identify individual learning styles and gaps and build on participant strengths.
“I have a hard time remembering stuff and the exams really make it difficult with the way that they present the questions,” explained Hoch. “I fall somewhere on the spectrum with autism and deal with learning disabilities…I tend to get hyper-focused.”
In addition to working with Anderlini, Hoch was introduced to RRS’s learning catalyst, Dave Lovisa, who also helped prepare him for the upcoming exam.
“It was important having a person I felt comfortable with,” noted Hoch. “Having someone that could read to me and help me better understand and explain the questions—in the past I would get confused.”
Hoch is thankful for the support the RRS team provided him, admitting that without it, things would be very different for him.
“If I didn’t have the support of Michelle, I wouldn’t have done it,” admitted Hoch. “Receiving added time in the exam was helpful. Dave was very persuasive and encouraging. He continually gave me the incentive to keep going and kept me accountable. I also received tutoring from Richard Dickenson for the Red Seal exam—all of it was really helpful.”
After successfully completing the exam and with a Red Seal certification now firmly in hand, Hoch remains committed to expanding on his work ventures and continuing to overcome communication barriers to train and teach his carpenter apprentices.
“I couldn’t do it without the Red Seal certification,” said Hoch. “Now I have it and I can keep building my crew.”
For more information on the work being done by CFBC and to donate, please visit constructionfoundation.ca.
