New State-Of-The-Art Trades Facility Helps College of the Rockies’ Students Build Bright Futures
A new training facility at College of the Rockies will inspire future generations of electrical and industrial mechanic students to jump-start rewarding trades careers in their local communities.
The Patterson Hall trades training facility increases training capacity, and accommodates new technology and equipment for students in the electrical and industrial mechanic (millwright) programs. Expanding the college's ability to provide the most current trades training will help meet growing industry demand for skilled workers in the region.
“We’re opening the doors to better training and more opportunities for students to help build the best B.C.,” said Melanie Mark, Minister of Advanced Education, Skills and Training, as the facility celebrated its official opening. “The new trades training facility in Cranbrook will better equip students with the skills and training that will give them good-paying, family-supporting careers in a range of industries.”
Funding for the $11.5-million building came from the Province of B.C., the Government of Canada’s Strategic Investment Fund, the Columbia Basin Trust, a private-sector donation from Teck, and the College of the Rockies.
“This once-in-a-generation investment by the Government of Canada positions Canada as a global centre for innovation,” said Navdeep Bains, Canada’s Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development. “It moves forward the government’s vision to make Canada a world leader in turning ideas into solutions, science into technologies, skills into jobs and startup companies into global successes. The Canadian economy can become globally competitive when we create conditions conducive to innovation and long-term growth, like this investment.”