NAIT plans expansion for more trades apprentice training as registrations jump

Edmonton's polytechnic is working on an expansion that will help the school add thousands more apprenticeship training seats.

But as pressure ramps up to get more skilled trades workers on the job, the new facilities are still years away from completion.

NAIT is getting $43 million from the provincial government for planning work on its new advanced skills centre, which will house lab and workshop space for trades programs. School officials estimate it will accommodate an additional 4,200 students every year, boosting the current ranks of apprentices by about a third.

The hope is to start construction next year and open the new building in 2029, but a detailed design — and the capital funding to build it — is still to come. 

NAIT School of Skilled Trades dean Matthew Lindberg said Monday that the project will make it possible to move students out of older facilities at its satellite campuses and into the main campus in central Edmonton.

It's a complex project because it isn't just about classroom space — the new building has to accommodate hands-on learning in a variety of disciplines.

The main focus is bringing construction trades programs into the new building, given the sector's ongoing labour shortage. Lindberg said the school also wants to include apprenticeship programs related to transportation, energy and manufacturing because they play an important role in repairing and maintaining aging infrastructure.

"We're 28 per cent higher with apprenticeship registrations than we were [last year]. And that's exponential growth because last year we were about 12 per cent higher than the previous year," Lindberg said.

Trades in high demand

Advanced Education Minister Rajan Sawhney told CBC News that boosting training to tackle Alberta's labour shortage is her top priority.

She wants to see significant numbers of skilled trades workers finishing their programs and entering the workforce by 2026.

"What we're hearing from industry across the board, whether it's construction, manufacturing, energy, transportation — this is the limiting factor. They just can't find enough qualified people, and particularly in the trades," she said.

"I have been told that we need double what we have right now, in terms of the number of tradespeople who are working in Alberta."

With recent announcements of large industrial projects like Dow's $8.9 billion Path2Zero facility, NAIT's welding and pipe trades programs have been in especially high demand, Lindberg said.

He added it's clear more people are seeing new opportunities in the trades, and now it's a matter of keeping up.

"We're excited to be able to grow those programs, and one of the challenges that we encounter is trying to find great instructors who want to deliver education into our program — it's a competitive market when it comes to recruiting people."