Premier Greg Selinger was on hand Wednesday to officially open the Technical Vocational Institute beside Hapnot Collegiate, encouraging students to embark on the next chapter in their lives.
“Young people can get an academic education and they can get a set of skills that allow them to get good jobs and good wages right out of high school,” said Selinger, addressing roughly 60 students and staff.
Currently, the Technical Vocational Institute, or TVI, offers a carpentry program to high school students. Instructor Colin Davis hopes to see other trades introduced in the coming semesters.
“You’ll be able to do things like plumbing and other trades that give you a good, solid foundation for the future,” said Selinger.
Opportunities
Selinger told the high school students that the
opportunities in front of them will help open doors in the future.
“Every opportunity will be available to you,” he said. “You can grow in any direction you want…with many choices, and that’s what we want. [There are] no wrong doors, but good choices for young people and the ability to do those jobs in this community.”
Davis shared a story he was told when he first moved to Flin Flon, four years ago, that 70 per cent of the people from the North stay in the North.
“Right then and there it made sense to me, as northern Manitoba’s most industrial city…to train the sons and daughters of those who drive this city to be its future,” said the teacher.
Davis hopes to be able to add trades such as plumbing, welding and fabrication to the courses provided through the TVI.
As a “small token of appreciation,” Grade 12 Hapnot student Amy McDuffee presented Selinger a wooden portrait she created of the premier.
Driver training
In addition to opening the TVI, Selinger announced a new partnership between the province and MPI designed to help low-income and unemployed northern Manitobans obtain a driver’s license.
The new program will be incorporated into existing job readiness training already underway in Flin Flon, The Pas and Thompson. Participants will receive 16 hours of in-class instruction and eight hours of in-car instruction with a professional instructor.
The program is anticipated to help close to 100 northern Manitobans get their driver’s licence, with classes starting Nov. 26.
“We know a lot of times that job opportunities [need] a trip to get there and a driver’s licence will give you that opportunity to do that,” Selinger said. “If you can drive and you’ve got a trade and an academic education, you’ve got a passport to the future.”
