Carpenter Jamie Martin is carving her own career with Refurb

For Jamie Martin, working as a carpenter on OPG’s Darlington Refurbishment project means more than just having a job. It means having an opportunity to define a career path of her own.

“I thought about interior design and graphic design after high school,” said Martin, a fourth-year carpenter apprentice working on the $12.8-billion clean energy project. “But neither of those professions really fit me.”

​So she returned to her roots, performing carpentry and helping out her father in his general contracting business in Scugog, which specializes in installation of doors and windows.

“I worked with my dad for a couple years, then realized I wanted to be able to support myself and do something different.”

Just over a year ago, Martin was contracted by Aecon, a member of the Joint Venture group, to work on the Darlington Refurbishment.

She is now working at Darlington Nuclear, building scaffolding to help refurbishment workers access components inside the recently defuelled Unit 2 nuclear reactor vault.

“It’s a challenge working in a full-body plastic suit and with gloves, but it’s a neat experience too,” Martin said.

The personal protective equipment required for working inside a nuclear vault is just one of the interesting experiences she has had on the project.

“Being here, working on refurbishment, opens your eyes,” she said. “The project is a huge investment, but that’s because it takes time and a lot of resources to do things safely and properly.

“It’s amazing how helpful everyone is. I love coming to work every day. That’s kind of an unusual thing to say, but it’s true.”

Over the course of its 10-year lifetime, the Darlington Refurbishment project will generate significant economic and environmental benefits for people and businesses across the province. But for Martin, the value in the refurbishment is a more personal one.

“Working on this project is a huge opportunity for me,” she said. “I really don’t think I’d get this kind of experience anywhere else.”