By Chad Klassen

TRU’s new trades building to help province fill upcoming job vacancies

Sep 26, 2018 | 5:10 PM

KAMLOOPS — After a delay in the grand opening, Thompson Rivers University officially unveiled its new $32 million Industrial Training and Technology building on Wednesday afternoon. 

The new trades centre is more than 5,000 square feet and will increase full-time student capacity by as much as 550 students, and the university will now be able to offer new programs.

“Power engineering, we’re doing refrigeration, air conditioning, millwright machining program we’ll bring in here,” said Dean of the School of Trades and Technology Baldev Pooni. “We’ll be able to do some other HVAC heating, ventilation, air condition programs. Instrumentation is another significant one. Not only will we be able to the foundation and apprenticeship training but also diploma programs. These are actually in collaboration with the School of Science.”

The added student capacity will help the province fill the more than 900,000 job openings that are projected in the next 10 years, including about 91,000 positions in the Thompson and Okanagan regions. 

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“We need to be training up the new generations to make sure they can help build our communities,” said NDP MLA Ronna-Rae Leonard, speaking on behalf of the Minister of Advanced Education Melanie Mark. “This is an amazing piece of infrastructure that’s going to help us achieve those kinds of lofty goals.”

Alyson Taylor, who is a fifth generation trades person in her family, says she was able to try out the trades in high school through TRU’s Construction Sampler program. She’s in the Industrial Instrumentation program and one day wants to work at Disney World.

“After getting my Instrumentation Red Seal, I’d like to go into engineering and then I’d like to help with the ride designs and trackless vehicles because there’s a whole bunch of sensors that now move them,” noted Taylor about helping build rides at Disney World. “Same with animatronics. There’s a lot of programming involved with it, so I’d like to know a lot more about it.”