Thompson will be the site of a new trades training centre operated in partnership with the School District of Mystery Lake (SDML) and University College of the North (UCN), provincial Education and Advanced Learning Minister James Allum announced at R.D. Parker Collegiate Nov. 27.
“We want to make sure that there are no dead ends for students,” Allum said. “When you walk out of the door of your high school it's not like there's nowhere to go. The skills trades centre will be the pathway for you. You'll leave high school, you'll move on, you'll get the skills you need as part of the training, you can move on to UCN, a pathway for you, a pathway to a brighter future, to good jobs.”
The 19,500-square-foot Industrial Skills and Trades Training Centre will be built on SDML property near both RDPC and UCN and will accommodate 126 apprentice/post-secondary students and 50 to 60 high school students. It will include a 7,250-square-foot heavy-duty equipment mechanics shop and 12,250 square feet for trades technology programming to support apprenticeship, high school industrial arts and dual-credit programming.
High school and short-term market-driven programming will include training in electrical and electronic technology, civil and computer-aided drafting technician skills, heavy-duty equipment mechanics, instrumentation technicians, carpentry, plumbing and facilities technician.
“It's so fitting that this announcement is being made in this venue with young people here because it gives University College of the North and the School District of Mystery Lake and R.D. Parker the opportunity to partner and collaborate on dual-credit initiatives, further trades training that are going to motivate students to remain in school and be successful in their studies, and also an opportunity for the students at the post-secondary level to enhance their skills and go on and achieve their qualifications that this facility is going to be providing,” said UCN president and vice-chancellor Konrad Jonasson.
“It's just so exciting to see that this is happening in our community and even more exciting that the school district is fortunate enough that it's going to be happening right here on our property and I just look forward to seeing how this partnership that we already have with UCN and the province expands,” said SDML school board trustee Sandra Fitzpatrick.
Ashton said that people who get their education in Northern Manitoba are more likely to stay here and raise their families in the region than those who are hired from elsewhere, a statement supported by Lovro Paulic, Vale Manitoba Operations vice-president
“We lose half the people we hire in the first two years and 75 per cent in the first four,” when hiring from outside the region, said Paulic. “That's not the way we want to do business and that's not the way we can stay in business. We made a commitment at Vale that we were going to do 100 per cent of our hiring for our operations people from Northern Manitoba and we can say over the last two years that's what we've done. We want to be able to hire 100 per cent of our tradespeople from Northern Manitoba and this facility will enable us to do that.”
Paulic said it also makes sense to support institutions within the region the company operates in.
“We're going to stand behind those partnerships and relationships that we have,” Paulic said. “Why? Because we're Northern people for Northern Manitoba.”
With Northern Manitoba projects like Manitoba Hydro’s Keeyask generating station and all-weather road construction in progress and on the horizon, Ashton says the future is promising.
“There's so much untapped potential right here in Northern Manitoba,” said Ashton. “We've got a tremendous bright future ahead in Thompson and Northern Manitoba.”
