Welding and carpentry trades training now offered at Collège Boréal’s Kapuskasing campus

3 February 2020

The unveiling of Collège Boréal’s 2020-2025 Strategic Plan in Kapuskasing served as an opportunity to announce new partnerships that will allow Boréal to offer trades training in welding and carpentry in this northern community.

The carpentry program began on January 20, 2020, in the form of a 40‑week pre-apprenticeship program, following which students can begin an apprenticeship program with an industry professional.

The welding program is a 20-week customized training program for Indigenous women and it began on January 27, 2020. This is the first time that Collège Boréal has offered welding training in Kapuskasing. It is funded by the region’s First Nations training and employment services and the pedagogical content was designed by the industry-sponsored CWB Group.

Thanks to a partnership with the Conseil scolaire catholique de district des Grandes-Rivières (CSCDGR), the courses are delivered in a trades workshop located at École secondaire Cité des Jeunes, which has the equipment required for both programs.

Responding to the local labour shortage

This formal partnership is a first for Collège Boréal in Kapuskasing. The carpentry and welding programs will help to expand the types of training offered locally in Kapuskasing in response to the demand in area businesses for workers with these skills.

The development of these new programs is directly related to Collège Boréal’s 2020-2025 Strategic Plan, which was presented to the community on the same occasion. Developed after a large-scale series of community consultations involving more than 1000 contributions from across the province, this plan identifies priorities such as offering programs and services in response to needs expressed by the communities Boréal serves.

Collège Boréal’s 2020-2025 strategic plan is available here (full text) and here (summary).

Trades training is one of Collège Boréal’s recognized areas of expertise. I’m very pleased that we are now able to offer in Kapuskasing two new high quality programs that will help to bolster the local labour force and, thereby, the economy of the entire region. This is exactly the direction we intend to follow as defined in our 2020-2025 strategic plan.

Daniel Giroux

President of Collège Boréal

It would have been impossible for Collège Boréal to provide these new training programs in Kapuskasing without the support of the community. I wish to thank the Conseil scolaire catholique de district des Grandes-Rivières for providing access to its trades workshop and all the welding and construction industry partners who mobilized to ensure the realization of this beneficial project.

Michelle Lebel

Campus Director, Kapuskasing and Hearst, Collège Boréal

We are proud to live and work together to ensure the success of Collège Boréal students. Sharing our workshop with Boréal students is a win-win partnership for our entire Francophone community. I thank the team at École secondaire catholique Cité des Jeunes for opening its doors to community activities.

Sylvie Petroski

Director of Education, Conseil scolaire catholique de district des Grandes Rivières

About

Established in 1995, Collège Boréal is a French language post-secondary training and learning institution dedicated to the development and growth of communities throughout Ontario.

Collège Boréal offers comprehensive programs and services in seven campuses and 38 access centres located in 26 communities throughout the province. Since 1995, approximately 120,000 clients across Ontario have benefited from Collège Boréal’s expertise relating to post-secondary education, training programs, immigration and settlement services, and employment services. Collège Boréal has established over 120 articulation agreements with other post-secondary institutions.

According to the Key Performance Indicators recognized by the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities, Collège Boréal holds the top rank in two of the five areas surveyed: graduation rate, and, for a fourth consecutive year, student satisfaction. These results are proof that investing in human capital is Boréal’s strength.