The 30-year, $30-billion plan announced by the federal government is going to require a skilled labour force and Holland College (in Prince Edward Island) is poised to provide just that.
"The precision machinist program which is currently being offered out of Slemon Park and which will be relocated to our new waterfront campus would have to be considered a key component of this," said Mike O'Grady, Holland College's vice-president of innovation enterprise and strategic development. "When you look at the magnitude of this shipbuilding effort over the next 20 to 30 years you can see opportunities for graduates from multiple programs actually including other trades programs. They're not directly related to shipbuilding. For example, the demand for new housing in the Halifax area is going to require all kinds of people building trades."
He said estimates show that at its peak, 460 new homes per year will be built in the Halifax area.
"Think about the carpenters, plumbers, electricians and so on that would be required to build all of those homes," he said. "So, the pressure is going to be on multiple college programs to meet those needs. And those are programs that are being offered in the Summerside area."
With such a massive long-term and far-reaching action plan, Holland College could be developing new programs to meet the needs of the plan.
"What's happening right now is things are definitely in the planning stages and the four regional colleges are working together to develop a strategy to meet the requirements of this initiative and we don't know yet what the exact skills and what the range of skills is that will be required," he said. "But the four colleges will be working together to address whatever those needs are once they're identified."
P.E.I.-based training institutions such as Holland College and the Holland College Marine Institute will be engaged to develop enhanced trades education and training in such areas as steel manufacturing, welding, defence systems development and integration, information technologies and security and policing.
"I think it is fair to say that Prince Edward Island is well positioned to take advantage of the resources available through the Atlantic Shipbuilding Action Plan," said National Revenue Minister Gail Shea.
The 30-year plan is now only 90 days old and not all of the details are clear.
"It's still in the early days so we don't know the full details yet, but I think everybody is being put on alerts that it's going to take an effort that will involve all of us," O'Grady said. "And if we optimize the opportunity and it's a huge one then developing a skilled labour force is going to be a big part of it. I could see us doing short course training, customized training for people currently working in the industry as well as full time programming to train people for entry level positions."
He said when people think about shipbuilding they think about the metal trades, but many of the components on a naval vessel involve electronics.
"I think the region has hit the jackpot potentially here, but the potential will be realized only to the extent that we can take full advantage of it," O'Grady said. "This action plan is designed to incorporate as many small and medium enterprises as possible within the region and get the labour force skilled up at those small and medium enterprises as well as the new entrant level to do what needs to be done. If there are gaps, then that will be identified in the labour force strategy and industry is looking to the colleges to address that."
For businesses interested in finding out more, a supplier development session is planned for the Loyalist Inn in Summerside on Feb. 27.
The Guardian
