Philip Borg Portfolio: Work, Education and Interests

Career Goals

To cultivate the desire and skills to preserve or produce beautiful and durable structures for the present and future generations
To work for a learning organization in a stimulating and collaborative environment

Skills and Competencies

Certified journeyperson carpenter with red seal endorsement
18 years of residential and commercial construction supervisory experience
Responsible for construction estimating for all projects
Strong knowledge of carpentry theory and practice including construction math
Early adoption of energy efficient building techniques including recycling
Heritage renovation and restoration experience gained from specializing in the renovation of historic homes and buildings in Ontario and Nova Scotia
Experience in historic building conservation techniques including non-toxic wood preservatives, epoxy consolidation and safe working practices
Highly developed computer skills including MS Office, email and internet
Commitment to lifelong learning, embrace the concept of portfolio education
Ongoing community involvement through volunteering and support of charities
A love of teaching and the desire to motivate students to accomplish their goals developed by training co-op, ESL and adult literacy students, and workers
Excellent presentation skills developed from client and management presentations
Interpersonal skills gained from maintaining networks and liaising, customer service, Team building skills gained from programming and construction projects

Creative self-starter, am comfortable working in a team environment or as support

Photo gallery of work Samples : http://www.flickr.com/photos/borgcarpentry/

Resume

Philip Borg

5 Fleming Drive,

Halifax NS B3P 1A8 (902) 223-6445

philipborg@yahoo.com

Heritage Carpentry Experience

Borg Restoration Carpentry, Halifax NS February 2003 - Present

Renovation Contractor Specializing in Older Homes

Renovate older homes and businesses in Halifax. Perform energy saving retrofits to homes following Energuide Energy Evaluations. Exterior work includes siding, roofing, door and window replacement, porches, decks and exterior trim. Interior work includes trim, built-in cabinets, doors, stairs, attic renovations, kitchens and baths. Produce drawings or sketches during the design process, either hand drawn or digital. Fabricate architectural millwork in the shop including spiral stair components. Preserve historic architectural components using a variety of conservation techniques and materials. Coordinate and supervise subcontractors and additional staff.

Vintage Victorian Restorations, Orillia ON September 1987 – May 1997

Renovation Contractor and Building Inspector Specializing in Older Homes

Renovated older homes in the downtown cores of Orillia and Toronto. Exterior work included everything required to restore a home to pristine condition from foundation work to roofing. Interior work included cabinets, trim and stairs. Larger projects included adding second stories, garages, boathouses and extensions for additional living space. Materials and methods developed for R-2000 building were employed where possible.

As a member of the Canadian Society of Home inspectors, residential, commercial and institutional buildings were inspected to verify proper construction or provide solutions to ongoing problems with structure, water intrusion and indoor air quality. Completed all the Building Code training courses provided by the province of Ontario required for performing municipal building inspections.

IT Experience

IMP Aerospace, Enfield, NS November 2000 to February 2003

Senior Programmer, Aeronautical Support Engineering

Developed or modified applications and databases to replace legacy programs for the Canadian Air Force. As part of a team of programmers, computer science coop students and engineers my role varied from lead to team member as determined by project requirements.

Computer Sciences Canada Inc, Kanata ON May 1999 to October 2000

Programmer/Analyst

Developed and supported enterprise wide applications for DuPont Canada. Part of a 6-person team spread over 3 sites. Performed all analysis, project management and application development for sub 400 hr projects, collaborated with other team members for larger projects.

Education/ Certifications

Interprovincial Journeyman Carpenter Certification - B-03-11912 2008

Journeyman Carpenter Certification - 403A - 304445 1992

Home inspector Training and Certification – Canadian Assoc. Home Inspectors 1993

Part 9 Building Code Training- Ontario Building Officials Association 1997

Including Structural Requirements, HVAC, Fire Protection, Code Implementation

Wood Energy Technical Training Certification (WETT) 1995

Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer 1998

Applied Information Technology Diploma 1997 - 1998

Programmer/Analyst - iti Information Technology Institute - Ottawa

Honours Bachelor of Science - University of Guelph 1977 -1982

Community activities

ESL- English as a second language volunteer tutor - HRM Library System

Halifax Ground Search and Rescue Volunteer

Actor - Theatre Arts Guild production of "Enemy of the People"

YMCA Volunteer - Red Deer, Orillia, Brockville, Halifax

Interests/ Personal development

Own and sustainably manage 80 acre woodlot in Cumberland County

Hiking, kayaking, dual sport motorcycle touring

Spanish Student - Level Three, Travel in South America

References available on request

Reflections:

It seems to anyone, but me, it was completely predictable that I would end up doing what I do professionally and personally. Construction, forestry and farming run through both sides of my family for many generations. All of the men in my family spent a significant amount of time either harvesting wood or building something out of it. And not just the men. I have a wonderful photo of my grandmother peeling pulp logs in Northern Ontario in the 1940's. Like them, I have had to uproot occasionally and pick up new skills as family circumstances and competing careers required. Everything I have done and learned has proven immensely worthwhile in time.
While in High School and on the university science track, I also took 4 years of woodworking. Coupled with the experience I gained from helping to construct my families homes and barns this knowledge has been incredibly useful at different times in my life.

My time in the Armed Forces Reserves, as an artilleryman, gave me experience in living and working as a team in often harsh and trying circumstances and to cherish the companionship and shared sense of accomplishment.

During university between my first and second year of an Agriculture degree I happened to see an advertisement for a new course being offered by the Simcoe Ontario campus of Fanshawe College . - Farm Equipment Mechanic . The skills I left with enabled me to fund my university education and has had myriad uses to this day in both work and recreational pursuits.

University provided ample opportunities to improve presentation and writing skills which have always been useful in addition to all I learned pursuing a liberal education.

After my my wife accepted an important promotion which required relocation and giving up my contracting business, I retrained as a computer programmer. The excellent computer skills I gained I use constantly for communication, bookkeeping and design.

My love of travel led to wanting to learn another language. I found myself in rural Cuba embarrassed at not being able to say a single word to my Spanish speaking host. Today I am at least a level 3 in Spanish and have traveled independently throughout Peru, Ecuador and Columbia on 5 different trips. My interest in language and teaching led me to tutor new Canadians in English through the HRM Library System. This in turn led to meeting one of the best workers I have ever had in the form of the Cuban immigrant who was one of my students. Maybe it is true that there is no such thing as useless information, certainly the more you know the more opportunities present themselves!