When we developed the new Woodworking Basics certificate program earlier this year, we didn’t know if it would attract many applicants. We started a similar program several years ago, before Covid, and it didn’t really get off the ground. This time, it’s looking like a real success for BARN and for our studio. Fourteen woodworkers have applied for the program so far!
Jeanne Huber is primarily responsible for designing our certificate program and working through the lengthy application process to make sure it complies with the rigorous standards of the state’s Workforce Training Board. The program is based on the board’s requirements for post-secondary education.
Our certificate program is comprised of the 11 existing wood shop classes included in the Woodworking Basics series, plus the orientation and the two tool safety classes (Woodshop Tool Safety Checkout 1 and Tool Safety Checkout 2) that all members must take, and finally a mentored final project class. Thus, the certificate program primarily takes advantage of the class line-up we already provide for all interested woodworkers. It constitutes a structured and systematic introduction to woodworking. Read more about the program.
Many of the 14 applicants have already started taking classes in the basics series (I had four of them in my Measurement & Math class a couple nights ago). They won’t be wearing any special name tags or other identification, but we should all make them feel right at home in our wood shop, as of course we should for all the visitors fortunate enough to walk through the doors of BARN.
Mike Gearheard
This article was originally published in BARN’s Woodworking Studio Newsletter. Subscribe to receive Woodworking news in your inbox. View all Woodworking classes to see upcoming events.
