The Parkland College’s Trades and Technology Centre has long been a dream. That dream is now a reality, with the facility officially holding its grand opening.
The $19 million facility allows the college the better needs of students in the area, and better meet the needs the students in the area, says Dwayne Reeve, president of the Parkland College. There are 100 students in the facility right now, with plans for 300 training spaces.
“It’s a really wonderful teaching environment, and it’s also a wonderful facility in terms of what we have for equipment and programs.”
The facility means that the Parkland College can offer more programs, Reeve says, as well as offering more in depth programming, and allowing students more time to get practical experience with equipment. While the Power Engineering lab, one of the cornerstones of the new college, is not completely finished, Reeve says it’ll be one of the best facilities in the province. The lab is expected to open on February 1.
“We will be able to train highly skilled workers that will then go back into the workforce, be employed by many of the industries and small businesses in our communities, and ultimately create vibrant communities, and that’s what everyone wants, the region to continue to grow, expand and develop.”
The expected cost was $15 million, but Reeve says that the extra cost came in a lot of the intricate equipment required for much of the programming.
Minister of Advanced Education Scott Moe says that regional colleges like Parkland fill demands across the province, both for skilled workers for industry as well as increased career opportunities for the students themselves.
“We have regional colleges across the province that focus on the labour market needs they have in their areas, and Parkland College has done a great job of that in the past. We look to them with a facility like this to do a great job of just that in the future.”
Moe also believes that it’s important to recognize that it was a regional effort to get the facility off the ground.
“The provincial government is a partner in this facility but it’s important to recognize other partners as well, the federal government, industries in the area like Mosaic and PotashCorp, the City of Yorkton as well as the local businesses who donated their time or financially to the cause. I think it’s time to say thank you.”
Past president Fay Myers was also an instrumental part of getting the facility off the ground. The planning began six years ago, and Myers says that much of the very early planning involved talking to people and finding out what they needed for their industry.
“It started six years ago basically by talking to people and putting a small group together at the college and putting a plan and a vision together.”
Myers admits that it is a little bit surreal to be stand in the centre on the grand opening.
“I’ve seen it through the sod turning all the way through the construction, all of the planning, all of the people involved in planning room to room to room, it’s a wonderful building, a wonderful concept and a wonderful college for this region. I know that the Parkland College will go forward and do more.”
On the subject of doing more, Reeve says that while the college will take a “short rest” after the completion of the centre, they are already looking at other expansions. Some ideas being examined are student residences.
“We are starting to attract more and more students from outside of our area, even looking at international programming. With that comes a need to house are students.”
Any new educational facilities, including additional phases for the Trades and Technology Centre, would come from examining what the area needs and would respond to, Reeve says. One area where they are looking at closely is additional agricultural programming.
