NWP Skilled Trades Training Centre officially open

“For many of them it’s not feasible for them to do that,” says Sheane. “So, they put off their training or put off finishing their apprenticeship program. Having this here where they live, where they work, encourages them to finish their trade, finish their apprenticeship program as soon as possible, so they can be fully certified journey people working in their field.”

(Image Credit: Everything GP staff/Nathaniel Leigh)

Grande Prairie MLA Nolan Dyck attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the facility Wednesday and is praising NWP for getting the centre up and running in just eight months.

“Chandos, the general construction manager here, they did a great job figuring out those timelines,” Dyck says. “All the way from doing the architecture, all the way to what we see today with the ribbon cutting. A lot of substantive work happening in eight months. Those timelines are unheard of but they were able to do it, and as we saw today, they finished the building. It’s fantastic.”

(Image Credit: Skilled Trades Training Centre)

“To get this done in eight months, which a lot of that was through the winter months, took a lot of partnerships and working together,” says Sheane. “That’s with NWP staff, with local contractors, with our project manager, and with different levels of government; everybody was driven. But they knew this was a need in Grande Prairie and that students, apprentices, and employers wanted this. And so, we were all set on this timeline.”

Dyck says the facility will help expand trade businesses in the region and keep local workers in their community.

“For a long time we’ve heard from businesses and communities and also investors,” he says. “Who’s going to train my people? Who’s going to train my team? And so, this is an opportunity for local businesses to continue to expand, be able to have people here in the area, and be able to continue even the rapid programs from high schools to seamlessly continue them into trades. And then also be able to hopefully retain.”

(Image Credit: Skilled Trades Training Centre)

Sheane says roughly 40 students are set to begin using the centre next week, with spaces designed to help train students from NWP’s 11 distinct career pathways.

“There’s some collaborative spaces in the building,” she says. “There’s a multi-use classroom upstairs, there’s some touchstone spaces, and there’s the rooftop deck area. There’s a lot of new renovated shop spaces that gives the students their dedicated space for their program to do the different technical skills that they will be learning.”

NWP invested $29 million to renovate the facility, which is located at the corner of 112th Street and 100 Ave, right next to Home Depot.

(Image Credit: Everything GP Staff/Nathaniel Leigh)

by Nathaniel Leigh