Mobile unit to bring industry training to rural, northern areas

Trades training is about to get a whole lot closer to home for rural and Aboriginal residents of northern British Columbia.

The provincial government has given $1.5 million to the Industry Training Authority to acquire a large, expandable semi-trailer that can be moved between communities, offering a new choice for those who are interested in entering the trades, or current apprentices needing to continue their training. The mobile unit will be equipped to offer hands-on skills training in a variety of trades.

“The government’s support of the ITA’s plan to offer flexible training, closer to home, is one of the key ways we can respond to the increasing demand for skilled labour,” said Economic Development Minister Colin Hansen. “A mobile training unit, combined with B.C.’s excellent public and private post-secondary system, will help meet the growing demand for apprenticeship training.”

The mobile training unit is a new tool the Province is adding to the mix of solutions already used to expand training opportunities for British Columbians. Employers in B.C.’s more remote communities are feeling the effects of the skilled labour shortage, just as they are in the urban centres. By increasing regional access to training, employers will be better able to tap into local sources of labour.

The ITA will consult with key stakeholders to ensure that the unit is used most effectively. It has formed a steering committee that will advise on the specifications of the mobile classroom itself, including which trades it will be equipped to offer.

The Industry Training Authority has 26,525 people registered in apprenticeship and training programs as of the end of March. There are also 3,259 youth participants, up by almost 280 per cent from March 2004 when the ITA was established.

Youth training is the ITA’s top funding priority after apprenticeship technical training. The target is 4,000 youth participants by 2007-08.

Through programs like ACE IT, secondary school apprenticeship and YES 2 IT, the Province and the ITA are encouraging more youth to get a head start in their trades training. Youth programs help to fulfil the ITA mandate of providing more training opportunities for British Columbians and provide a skilled work force for the B.C. economy.

With the addition of a mobile unit, more of those training opportunities will be made available to Aboriginal youth and adult learners.

More about the mobile training unit:

• A unit normally takes seven to 10 months to construct.
• Each trailer can handle about 12 apprentices per class.
• Setup and knockdown take about 1 hour.
• B.C.’s unit will be based on one designed by instructors from Northern Alberta Institute of Technology in co-operation with engineers at a truck manufacturer in Ontario.
• Instructors who use the Alberta unit say they are pleased with the shop on wheels because tools and supplies are right in place; businesses and communities say they appreciate the “at home” delivery; and employers comment on how it has helped their businesses because they don’t have to send employees away for training.
• Although B.C.’s unit isn't finished yet, it could be equipped to provide training in welding, millwright, machining, gas fitting, plumbing, steam fitting, sprinkler fitting. It could also accommodate other trades such as joiner, sheet metal, electrical and instrumentation mechanic.
• The Province is also providing $850,000 for a second mobile trades unit in Kamloops/Thompson to improve access to skills training for students in that district.