Partnership bringing more training to the North

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The provincial and federal governments are joining forces with Union Gas and six northern colleges to increase access to training in the trades for people living in the north.

The project, designed to redress the shortage of skilled tradespeople in Northern Ontario, will provide funding for development of new training programs and infrastructure at College Boreal, Sault College, Canadore College, Confederation College, Cambrian College and Northern College.

In total, $8.5 million has been dedicated to the partnership, with $1.7 million coming from FedNor, the federal initiative aimed at promoting economic growth, diversification and job creation in northern Ontario and to support northern communities in their attempts to become sustainable and self-reliant. FedNor's contribution is the first funding allocation under the new FedNor Youth Retention Strategy, designed to create more opportunities for youth to study and work in Northern Ontario.

The province is kicking in just under $1.9 million through the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation, which shares a similar mandate to that of FedNor. The project is the first to be funded under the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund's Emerging Technology Program, aimed at encouraging public and private sector organizations to develop new technologies that will contribute to future prosperity in the north.

Union Gas is contributing $1.3 million to the project, while the six colleges are investing a total of $3 million. The balance of the money committed to the initiative is coming from a number of local partners.

Union Gas, the lead partner in this initiative, spearheaded the project as a way to encourage young people living in Northern Ontario to pursue careers in the trades and within the energy sector.

"As a business that operates in Northern Ontario, we know it is important to nurture and develop home grown talent to serve the needs of business and industry now, and in the future," Union Gas president Greg Ebel said of the company's involvement in the project.

The partnership will provide $400,000 to Northern College in Timmins, to be used for the college's Opportunity North project, designed to build and sustain an Aboriginal and northern workforce in the mining, forestry, telecommunications, energy and environment sectors. One of the local partners in the project is the Mushkegowuk Tribal Council, and youth from the council's member communities will be among the 40 students that will take part in the program.

The $1.3 million allocated to Confederation College in Thunder Bay will be used to implement the Knowledge Network project, which has as its goal the development of a competitive workforce in the north. The first phase of the two-phase project will be Energy Connections, which will work to provide support programs and access to technology-based education for northern youth to ready them for employment in the energy sector.

Through Energy Connections, students will start benefiting from the program in Grade 7 and those benefits will continue through to the end of Grade 12 and then on into workplace training or programs at the college. Among the local partners in the Energy Connections project are Fort Williams First Nations, Matawa First Nations, Hydro One, Weyerhaeuser, Lakehead Public Schools and the Thunder Bay Catholic District School Board.

College Boreal in Sudbury will receive $3.7 million through the initiative which will be used to built a new 20,000 square foot facility specifically for trades training. The space will include workshops for the college's welder fabrication and heavy equipment mechanic programs and will allow the college to expand its current one-year certificate programs in the two courses into two-year diploma programs.

Cambrian College in Sudbury will use the $1 million it will receive through the partnership to develop its Learning Opportunities for Youth initiative, designed to improve educational and carer success for people across the northeastern part of the province. Under the initiative, high school students in the area will be able to complete college-level programs through distance learning while still attending high school.

The aim of Learning Opportunities for Youth is to provide students, especially those at risk of not completing their secondary school education, with opportunities for hands-on learning and to support them through mentoring programs. The project will also provide them with opportunities for accessing training without having to leave their home communities. The courses that will be delivered thought the program will focus on preparing students for careers in skilled trades, health sciences, hospitality and science and technology, areas where shortages of skilled workers are currently being experienced or are expected in the future.

At Canadore College in North Bay, the money allocated through the partnership-just under $1 million-will be used to build an electrical and plumbing laboratory at the college's Commerce Court campus, which will provide space to train up to 25 students in basic electrical, plumbing and welding programs.

The Near North School Board is also investing in the project, which will allow the college to provide welding courses at Parry Sound high school and Mattawa high school, providing students with the skills they'll need to find employment with local businesses.

Sault College in Sault Ste. Marie will receive just over $1million that will be used to develop a new Wind Energy Training Centre and to support the college's Wind Energy Training program. The centre will include a fully operational pilot scale wind turbine and an electromechanical instrumentation lab and should be up and running by the fall of 2007.