Boosting skilled tradespeople.

The official opening of College Boreal's new $4.1 million, 70,000 square-foot Institute of Trades and Applied Technology is less about the finished product and more about a series of trade opportunities, according to the school's president.

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"We opened up much more than a building," says Denis Hubert.

"We opened up the notion of a trades focus here at Boreal. What that does is indicate to our partners that we're not only committed to trades here in Sudbury, but also throughout all our partner sites."

To this end, Boreal has devised a multi-phase plan that will find the school taking a much stronger role in the development of skilled trades workers in Northern Ontario.

Having produced 10,000 apprentices since 1995, Hubert estimates that this plan, which includes expanding the total of trades programs from 13 to 30, will help to produce an additional 12,000 within the next five years alone.

Such efforts are crucial, says Hubert, especially in light of recent statistics which indicate that the aging workforce will require a massive influx of new tradespeople within the next 10 years. As an example, he says the mining industry alone will soon see a massive turnover, with nearly one-third of its workforce slated for exit in the next four to five years.

As part of the plan's stated on phase one, the official opening at the school's Sudbury campus has allowed for up to 250 new students to make use of the new building.

This facility features a functional 7,000 square-foot area for heavy equipment training, a 10,000 square-foot section for welding, and a 3,000 square-foot area for auto service technician training.

Phase two involves the construction of a 65,000 square-foot facility in Timmins, which is set to replace the various study areas used throughout the city.

In conjunction with local school boards as well as Hearst University and various private businesses, College Boreal is seeking to physically link the proposed site to one of the two francophone high schools in the area, to create what he refers to as a new way of thinking about education.

This move would effectively quadruple the Timmins-area enrolment, bringing the current total of 100 full-time students to an estimated 450.

"The advantage for us to do that is to be able to have transference of students from one school to the next," he says. "When you're in high school, you'll be able to go next door and look at what a trade shop is. If you don't want to go into university and you don't want to go into the arts, here's a nice venue for you."

Although talks are still ongoing with the provincial government as to the exact amount and timing of the funding, Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities Chris Bentley has already publicly announced that the province would indeed be a partner in the project.

"We need a massive, massive investment from government in order to revamp our facilities there," he says. "Basically, I'm renting here, I'm renting there, I'm using secondary buildings, I'm spread out all over the town."

According to Hubert, phase three of the project will involve establishing yet another extension to College Boreal's Sudbury campus, and will seek to further expand the available amount of trades programs.

However, as details surrounding this particular project are still being developed, much of it is still under wraps.

With the highest rate of graduate satisfaction among Ontario's 24 colleges, Hubert is strongly optimistic about College Boreal's role in the development of northern Ontario trades workers.

"I see the trades train coming, and it's coming fast," he says. "I just want to make sure I'm onboard when it arrives and that it doesn't hit me."

www.borealc.on.ca

By NICK STEWART

Northern Ontario Business