Tuesday was an exciting day for high school students in the Pembina Valley who plan to pursue a career as a piping tradesperson.
A large group of students, parents, education and industry leaders, community members and dignitaries gathered at Morden Collegiate Institute for the grand opening of the MCI Technology Centre.
RRTVA Director Lane Curry says it's always exciting to celebrate new infrastructure.
"There are welding machines here that are being used on production lines in many of the bigger welding manufacturing companies in the area. They're so new that our instructor had to get training on them. The other welding program also received them. They're the way of the future so it's good to keep current and up to industry standard. The design is very nice with the upper mezzanine so the kids can see what a basement's like and work underneath. When you have a vocational program constructed with student instruction in mind, it's much different than retrofitting an older building."
Brian Fransen, Board Chair for the Western School Division, says this new permanent space adds a missing piece to the general construction curriculum of the RRTVA.
"If you look at the entire region, we have what we call the Red River Technical Vocational area and among that group of shared vocational programs in Southern Manitoba, we have most of the major trades covered. Actually, adding the piping trades was one of the last major trades for general construction to be added into the area. And so, we filled a niche. Now, depending on what your desires are as a student, whether you're living in Morden, in Winkler, in Altona or in Morris, you can take one of those programs and learn a trade that can help you with your career."
Fransen points out the move from a rented space to a permanent site reflects the success of the piping trades program.
Wayne Ewasko, Minister of Education and Early Childhood Learning, was also on hand for the ribbon cutting
"It's very impressive. It's going to help to sustain our economy, grow our economy within the trades and just basically showing that that we're giving students options. We know that industry is changing on a day-to-day basis and these school programs, especially with the Level 1 Apprenticeship program as well, needs to keep up with those changes as well. I think this centre definitely does that and actually knocks it out of the park."
Curry adds, the addition is a bolster to the RRTVA as a group and to the Western School Division locally.
