The purpose of apprenticing with the Lakeside Carpentry Crew is to learn trade skills and gain artistic industrial arts design experience while serving the Kingdom of God in a community setting with YWAM Lakeside. Our apprenticeship program seeks not only to provide you with training in various trades, but also to provide an environment that encourages spiritual growth.
This program is a two year program in which you will join our staff as a full time staff member/student. You will be responsible to meet all of the same requirements as our regular full time staff, to include attending all staff meetings, family nights, and our annual retreat. There will be exceptions to your daily commitments based on the requirements of the Apprenticeship Program and at the discretion of the program director, including skills training outreaches and working with local professional work crews. For additional details concerning staffing full time with YWAM Lakeside please contact our personnel office.
Your training will be recorded by and is comprised of four “blocks” of learning. These blocks are:
_trades
_general conditions
_stamina
_spiritual formation
Each of these blocks are comprised of four focus areas. We spend time both in the field and in a classroom setting on each focus. By using professionals in each focus area who volunteer their time to train and teach our crew members, we gain valuable experience in a wide range of trades and task as well as receive quality biblical training and discipleship.
In addition to your Apprenticeship Program workbook you will also be required to go on a Skills Training Outreach. Skills Training Outreach is our way of getting into a project/owner/contractor setting. This provides valuable teaching time and focus off of our campus to work hard, and hone our construction skills while developing team work. Churches, non Profit ministries, other YWAM bases, camps, and others provide our crew with travel expenses, and room and board, in exchange for the labor of a professional skilled crew. It benefits both sides, by building relationships, moving forward on projects, giving on site experience to the newer crew members, and saving money over costly construction crews. You will also be required to volunteer with a professional tradesman, learn building code, participate on outreaches to benefit the less fortunate, as well as planning, managing and directing crews for a second year project.
Why Montana? We are in the early stages of re-developing our campus from the Air Force base that was left behind into a campus that reflects the world class training that is provided here. We have been blessed over the years to have professional tradesmen join our staff as well as serve in advisory rolls. Having professional tradesmen on our staff presents us with the unique opportunity of having both long term projects where we can accomplish our site development goals while also providing training in the industrial arts which can be a great tool for increasing our effectiveness in global missions.