Province investing in the future of apprenticeships at NAIT
Alberta’s government is investing $43 million to plan the Advanced Skills Centre at NAIT, training an additional 4,200 apprentices yearly.
Alberta’s workforce is currently facing a shortage of skilled trades workers, making life more expensive for families and leaving job openings unfilled. To meet the demands of a growing economy and create opportunities for students in high-demand fields, Alberta’s government is investing in the new Advanced Skills Centre (ASC) at NAIT.
The ASC will deliver the most comprehensive, leading-edge apprenticeship and technology-based education in the world, focused on training in four key sectors: construction, transportation, manufacturing, and energy.
“Alberta is leading the way in skills and trades education,” said Rajan Sawhney, Minister of Advanced Education. “The Advanced Skills Centre at NAIT will see more apprentices trained in four sectors critical to our economy, while fostering innovation not just in the Edmonton region, but throughout northern Alberta and beyond.”
Planning funds will help prepare for construction, which will start in 2025. The centre will add 640,000 square feet of new, state-of-the-art learning space to NAIT’s main campus and support the evolution and growth of programming over time, allowing NAIT to meet emerging needs to support Alberta’s diverse and competitive industries.
“This funding from Alberta’s government acknowledges the crucial role of skilled trades in the economy and NAIT’s role in delivering apprenticeship education that is essential for our province’s prosperity,” said Laura Jo Gunter, president and CEO, NAIT. “In collaboration with industry and the community, NAIT is set to modernize and expand our training capabilities. This is an investment in our vision, setting the stage for Alberta’s future.”
Jason Idler, Chief Operating Officer, Heavy Industrial, PCL Construction, added; “With so many projects on the horizon, the province’s future has never looked brighter. This state-of-the art facility goes a long way to ensuring we have the workforce we need today to build the infrastructure we need tomorrow.”
This investment is crucial for ensuring students and faculty have access to the most up-to-date learning and training spaces. In some cases, purpose-built facilities at NAIT are more than 60 years old and have reached their end of life, requiring replacement. When construction is completed, the Advanced Skills Centre will include flexible and adaptable learning spaces that can be expanded to accommodate program growth or the introduction of new programs to meet labour market demand.
“NAIT’s new Advanced Skills Centre will directly support Alberta’s economic future,” said Brendan Curley, vice-president, Heartland, Petrochemical Complex Operations, Inter Pipeline. “To help ensure corporate investment, industry needs learning spaces that can pivot to serve labour market needs, an interdisciplinary approach that better equips learners for a dynamic and changing workplace, and in higher numbers to serve a growing market. Inter Pipeline thinks this is a step in the right direction.”
-Alberta Government News Release
