October 11, 2013 - 1:56 PM
KAMLOOPS - A local high school student was at the controls of an excavator today for the ceremonial ground-breaking of the new NorKam Trades Centre of Excellence. The student, 17 -year- old Joey Kineshanko made the first dig to the cheers of NorKam students and construction workers.
Education Minister Peter Fassbender, MLAs Terry Lake and Todd Stone, along with school board chair Denise Harper, superintendent Terry Sullivan and students, then put the traditional shovels to the ground to mark the official start of construction of the new centre.
Scheduled for completion in 2014, the trades and technology centre will offer students from throughout the school district new training opportunities and a chance to get a head start on skills and trades careers, both in the Kamloops area and throughout British Columbia.
The centre will include four new skills and trades training shops with specialized equipment and two lecture areas. The skills and trades training capacity of the school will be expanding by about 100 students. New courses to be offered at the NorKam Trades Centre of Excellence include:
* Mining exploration, development and production
* Transport truck driver training
* Entry level industrial skills
* Construction trades training
* Refrigeration and air conditioning
* Civil engineering technology
The official groundbreaking was followed by a tour of the school's existing skills training facilities, including its professional kitchen and hairdressing salon where Fassbender agreed to have his hair trimmed. The hairdressing program at the school offers students a head- start on Industry Training Authority (ITA) approved apprenticeships.
Total cost of the new NorKam Trades Centre of Excellence is projected at $7.4 million. The Ministry of Education is investing $4.6 million in the new skills and trades centre. Through the government's Skills and Training Plan, the Ministry of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training is providing $1.7 million. The balance of $1.1 million is being provided by the Kamloops - Thompson Board of Education.
News from © iNFOnews, 2013