In our hustle and bustle world, it seems like it was much more than a year ago when the Saskatchewan Energy Training Institute opened its doors to the public.
However, SETI is just coming up on its one-year anniversary and has quickly become an important institution for local energy companies and students.
Sheena Onrait, the general manager of the Southeast Regional College's Estevan campus, said the move from their previous location at the Estevan Comprehensive School to their current one has not been without some "bugs," but they are thrilled with the facility.
"The staff loves it," Onrait said. "It's amazing just for your own personal health and well-being to be able to see outside and have natural light, it's fantastic. We were a little enclosed before. We are extremely happy."
Although the $14-million facility is largely geared towards the energy sector, Onrait noted that along with their usual oilfield safety classes and other programs, the college moved its entire operation and classes into the institute over the past year.
"In January of last year, we transitioned all of our safety programs over here plus we also transitioned our SIAST office education program and our fourth class power engineering program," Onrait said. "In April, we had our first pre-employment electrician program start here in Estevan and over the summer, that was when we transitioned our student services counsellors and our two basic education classes over here. They all started the brand new academic school year in September."
Onrait noted that with so much to offer the public and the popularity of their classes, the next couple of months will be a challenging time as they continue to juggle schedules and ensure all needs are met.
"Right now we definitely have enough space. Come the next couple of months will be the real test to see whether we max out all of our space. There were a few days last year where we were doubled up. It will take a lot of creative scheduling this year to maximize our space and fit everyone in and still be able to respond to the demand of spring breakup."
That demand over spring break and throughout the year has been significant. She said they were very happy with attendance and noted that in some cases, they doubled the number of courses they ran, a fact she chalks up to their new facility.
"I was really thrilled with road bans last year and really looking forward to what we can accomplish this year," she said. "I think it was definitely the new facility and all of those extra classrooms. We were just able to put so many extra people in."
"The auditorium is a huge bonus for us too. We held a number of company safety meetings during road bans last year and even in the off-season we've done a number of safety meetings, new hire orientations, job fairs, all sorts of things in our auditorium. It's become a real draw for companies to come and use that space."
Looking to the future, Onrait said she expects SETI to continually evolve and offer new courses as the demands of the energy sector change.
"There are a number of things that we would love to be able to bring to Estevan that we haven't in the past, but like anything, it takes research and curriculum and instructors and equipment and all those sorts of things that have to fall in place before we can announce a program and put students in it."
