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This article was published 06/09/2018 (1737 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Assiniboine Community College has put the finishing touches on three new trailers that will be used to bring trades-related training to Indigenous communities across the province.

Representatives from Assiniboine unveiled the newly built trailers at the college’s North Hill campus on Wednesday.

Assiniboine president Mark Frison described the trailers as a “program in a box” and said they will allow the college to bring training into communities more easily and cost-effectively.

He said programs were offered in more than 20 communities across the province last year and that Assiniboine will look at developing proposals — and obtaining funding — to provide training in other communities and sectors.

“We’ll continue to look at that and hopefully these trailers can be fully subscribed through that process, now that folks are aware that we have these assets,” he said.

Each trailer has been outfitted with Apprenticeship Manitoba-approved tools in carpentry, plumbing and electrical.

The three programs being offered — applied building construction, applied electrical installation and applied plumbing installation — will last for five months and can accommodate 15 to 16 students at a time.

The carpentry trailer will make its debut in Peguis First Nation for two full cohorts of applied building construction from mid-September to fall 2019.

Kevin Poirier, chair of construction trades for Assiniboine, said the college has seen a great deal of success in its partnerships with First Nations communities over the years.

He said the most recent applied building construction programs have been offered in Waywayseecappo and Sandy Bay First Nations. Assiniboine has also offered applied plumbing in Peguis and applied electrical at the college’s Parkland campus in Dauphin, he added.

The trailers were built using $150,000 in funds from Western Economic Diversification Canada. The contribution was announced in April and was matched by the college.

“ACC looks forward to being able to provide community trades training and this investment from Western Diversification ensures that we’ll be able to deliver this skilled trades training for years to come,” Poirier said.

Graduates will earn their Level 1 in-school pre-employment training and can also obtain their mature student high school diploma through the program.

The college is also offering programs in residential framing and residential plumbing for shorter periods of time.

“The college’s Indigenization Strategy calls on us as a college to increase participation rates for First Nations, Métis and Inuit students, both on campus and by extending educational opportunities to regions that don’t have permanent post-secondary venues,” Kris Desjarlais, director of Indigenous education at Assiniboine and Rosser ward councillor, said in a news release.

In the same release, Pam Favel, program manager for Peguis First Nation Training and Employment, said it has been a challenge to purchase the required equipment in the past, but the new trailers will make it easier to bring accredited, community-based training opportunities to her community.

“We are witness to much greater success rates in community-based training and we look forward to our continued work ahead with the Assiniboine Community College.”

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