A trades training facility will open career doors for Flin Flon high school and college students, Premier Greg Selinger announced Monday.
After weeks of speculation, Selinger unveiled details of the Skills Training Centre, now in the early stages of construction in the Hapnot Collegiate parking lot.
“In the North we want to have good opportunities for young people starting right out of high school,” said Selinger.
The $500,000 centre, funded entirely by the province, will be flexible enough to offer a range of trades courses, such as plumbing, welding and heavy-duty mechanics.
Training at the 6,000-sq.ft. centre, due to open in September 2014, will be based around the needs of employers in the region.
It will be open to Hapnot and Many Faces Education Centre students. It will also be used for joint courses with students from the Frontier and Creighton school divisions as well as University College of the North, the Northern Manitoba Mining Academy and Northlands College.
Also partnering is industry – namely Hudbay, Manitoba Hydro, the Tolko forestry company, nickel miner Vale and oriented strand board maker Louisiana Pacific – as well as the Northern Manitoba Sector Council to which they belong.
Addressing education officials and students in the Hapnot library, Selinger said he wished his high school had offered this level of opportunity.
“We made tie racks when I was in high school, and there’s not really a lot of future in tie racks,” the premier said. “But with this Skills Training Centre, you’re going to have here...you can learn to be a plumber, you can learn to be a carpenter, you can learn to be a welder, you can learn to do computer-aided design if you wish to do that, or any other skill.”
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The announcement came nearly three weeks after foundation work began for the new building.
Local officials were asked not to reveal the nature of the project ahead of the premier, leading to much speculation as to what the building would house.
Joining Selinger for Monday’s eagerly awaited announcement was Flin FLon MLA Clarence Pettersen, himself a retired teacher.
“Any time there’s an opportunity for Flin Flon, any time there’s an opportunity for students in Flin Flon, I’m excited,” Pettersen said from a podium.
Trustee Glenn Smith of the Flin Flon school board, a retired Hapnot principal, said the board was pleased to see this “much-needed vocational education space in our community.”
“This is just a great opportunity for this community, for our kids,” Smith said, adding that vocational training space for Hapnot was a long sought-after initiative.
During his visit, Selinger also took time to detail a previously announced modernization of Hapnot’s biology lab.
“The new state-of-the-art science lab will be a great learning facility that will help students get excited about science and the possibility of a career in the science field,” Selinger said. “We all want young people to succeed and these days that can mean taking advantage of the great opportunities offered in science, technology and trades.”
Between the Skills Training Centre and the upgraded science lab, the province is investing about $1 million in Hapnot, Pettersen said.
“That’s a big chunk of money that we’re spending on the future of Flin Flon’s youth,” added the MLA.
Education Minister James Allum was not present for the announcement, but in a press statement he touted the merits of the projects.
“We know that these strategic investments will help students get a quality education and help grow our economy,” Allum said.
Local school officials have said the Skills Training Centre will not mean a shortage of parking for students.
The centre is being built in what had been a portion of the high school’s student parking lot.
Premier Greg Selinger (from left) and MLA Clarence Pettersen look on as Trustee Glenn Smith thanks the province for its investment in Flin Flon high school students.
PHOTO BY JONATHON NAYLOR
