Behchoko's Nihts'iyee Huskey has moved to Fort Smith to attend trades school. He admits that being alone in a new part of the territory takes some adjustment.

"I'm used to living around friends and family," he said. "When you first move into your own apartment by yourself, you've got to get used to the area around you.

"So there's going to be some times when you feel lonely and stuff like that."

It's all worth it though. The 18-year-old graduate of Chief Jimmy Bruneau School is hammering his way through what he hopes will be the first of many trades under his belt in the home-building industry. He started his first semester in January.

To accomplish this, he's taking the fundamentals of carpentry program at Aurora College in Fort Smith. The 20-week program helps people get their foot in the door in the apprenticeship career stream and provides the equivalent training of a first-year apprenticeship. Students who graduate are eligible to write the first-year apprenticeship exam and can potentially receive 480 hours towards their blue book.

"I like how you can take a two-by-four and make something great out of it," he said. "I was planning to see which trade I was best suited in, so I chose carpentry first."

Though he's just getting started, Huskey has big plans. After he gets his journeyman's ticket in carpentry, he said he has eyes on learning the plumbing and electrical trades as well.

His inspiration? His grandfather, Edward Koyina, was an accomplished home builder in the Northwest Territories and was a red-seal electrician.

"He knew electrical, plumbing and carpentry," said Huskey. "He was born in 1942 and got his [electrician's] red seal in 1967, plumbing in 1968 and carpentry in 1969. He was the reason I wanted to get into trades.

"My end goal is to buy run-down houses and build whole new houses out of them. That's what I'm planning to do.

With big boots to fill, Huskey said he would ultimately like to launch his own home-building business, helping to replace the aging inventory of homes in the territory.

But more immediately, he's striving to graduate and start getting his hands dirty.

"Back where I used to live there's (Tlicho Investment Corporation's construction unit)," he said. "They're looking to build new houses, so I'm going to see if I can work with them."

For more stories on the construction industry in the North, click here.