Salmon Arm campus expands construction trades training
February 24, 2010 by Lynn Knell
Filed under Business, Government, Headlines, Local news, Salmon Arm, Shuswap
Ground-breaking ceremony on Feb.16 at site of the Okanagan College expansion, 5450 48th Avenue, Salmon Arm Industrial Park. From left to right: Jim Hamilton, President Okanagan College; Colin Mayes, MP Okanagan-Shuswap; George Abbott, Minister Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation & MLA Shuswap; Lynda Wilson, Former Regional Dean Okanagan College; Ginette Therrien, Residential Construction student; Lance Kayfish, Chair, Okanagan College Board of Governors. (Photo by Christine Ulmer)
Ground-breaking ceremony for Okanagan College expansion.
Okanagan-Shuswap MP, Colin Mayes joined Shuswap MLA and Minister of Aboriginal Relations and Reconcilliation, George Abbot as well as representatives from Okanagan College for the official groundbreaking ceremony of the $1-million expansion of the college’s trades training facility. Mr. Mayes spoke enthusiastically, saying, “The Knowledge Infrastructure Program provides an opportunity for effective partnerships between the provincial and the federal government. The solid co-operative efforts to deepen support for post-secondary education will bring lasting benefits for all Canadians.”
The Knowledge Infrastructure Program, a joint federal-provincial investment, is funding 40 projects at post-secondary institutions across the province at a cost of $497 million. The Salmon Arm campus project is also part of an overall $14-billion capital infrastructure program supported by the Province that will create up to 88,000 jobs and help build vital public infrastructure in every region of B.C.
The poplulation growth in the Salmon Arm area has risen considerably higher than the overall growth rate for BC in the last few years (3.9% compared to 2.6%) and the demand for workers skilled in the construction trades has exploded. The current trades facility at the Salmon Arm campus is full to capacity with the rotating trades program which includes entry-level welding, plumbing and electrical, plus residential construction and carpentry levels 1 and 2. The expansion will accommodate 144 more students – 96 additional student spaces in carpentry and 16 student spaces in each of the three entry-level trades programs, Gateway to the Trades, Women in Trades and Aboriginal Careers in Trades. It will give opportunities to these students to learn the skills needed to pursue rewarding careers in the skilled trades.
The project will add 262 sq. m to the trades building and a 525 sq. m covered work area. The present shop space will also be receiving a renovation.
Minister of Advanced Education, Moira Stilwell, said “British Columbia’s prosperity depends on having a skilled work force, and that’s why our government continues to invest in post-secondary education throughout the province.”
Okanagan College president Jim Hamilton added “The development of human capital is the best kind of investment we can make for the short- and long-term success of the region.”
The expansion is expected to be completed by August, 2010 and the renovation by December 2010.
For more information on the provincial government’s three-year job creation plan, visit http://www.gov.bc.ca/infrastructure.
For more information about the federal Knowledge Infrastructure Program, visit http://www.ic.gc.ca/knowledge-infrastructure.
