Article appeared in the Sept 15, 2011 issue of the Interlake Spectator…
ARBORG – On the campaign trail Sept. 8, incumbent Manitoba Premier Greg Selinger visited Arborg Collegiate Institute (ACI); where he announced a $50,000 funding commitment for the Evergreen School Division to be shared between the high schools in Arborg and Gimli to enhance trades programs at both schools.
The funding would support the purchase of shop classroom equipment. In Arborg that includes a computer-controlled router and plasma cutter, said Devon Deck, industrial arts teacher at ACI.
The funding helps rural communities address an ongoing need to provide better training at home for young people, encouraging them to stay within their communities while supporting growth in rural economies.
According to Selinger, better equipment in schools means students will be better equipped for the realities of the workforce, and new hiring incentives will enable students to more easily find apprenticeship and employment opportunities.
Furthermore, help is on the way for rural and northern Manitobans, not only to learn trades and get jobs, but to start their own trades businesses.
Overall, the NDP has promised to invest $4 million per year in rural colleges, increase hiring incentives for rural employers and expand access to skilled training opportunities for rural Manitobans.
“If we are elected, we’ll put that into the next budget, next spring,” said Selinger.
According to an NDP news release, their Rural and Northern Apprentice Training Strategy will: establish a new “Journey Person Business Start” program that provides support for rural journey people to start their own businesses; create a new “Skill Build” program to upgrade high-school shop classrooms to provide apprenticeship training; create 10 additional trades training courses to be delivered online; invest $400,000 in Red River College’s mobile trades labs, allowing them to reach more rural and northern communities; add an additional $1,000 apprentice hiring bonus for Level(s) 1 and 2 apprentices, effectively doubling the incentives for rural employers.
Currently in the Interlake, there is a high demand for skilled trades people, with projected increases of more 20 per cent employment in the construction sector in the province between 2011 and 2014.
Future programs for rural Manitobans, beyond the trades sector, are also part the NDP platform.
“If there is the demand and an interest, we definitely would bring other programs in,” Selinger said.
