Western Standard - Building learning spaces for power engineers

00:00:00.080 the county of grand and the md of greenview for being part of this exciting announcement for our

00:00:04.640 community for nearly 60 years northwestern polytechnic has provided a pathway forward

00:00:10.800 for students in grand prairie and communities across northwestern alberta this is an institution

00:00:18.080 that has given students a chance to learn skills begin rewarding careers and succeed close to the

00:00:24.800 communities where they grew up. Alberta's government is proud to represent nearly every

00:00:30.080 rural community and mid-sized city in our province. We understand that supporting growth

00:00:35.920 and investing in northwestern polytechnic makes a positive impact on the families of our community.

00:00:42.080 I will now turn the microphone over to the Minister of Advanced Education, the Honourable Rajansani.

00:00:56.220 Good morning, everyone, and thank you, Ron, for that introduction.

00:01:00.780 It is such a pleasure to be at Northwest Polytechnic today.

00:01:04.660 It's especially a pleasure because this room is full of so many people who are going to be attending the installation later this afternoon.

00:01:11.780 and I'm very excited to take part in that experience as well.

00:01:16.480 I'm really looking forward to exploring the facilities

00:01:19.080 and meeting with the instructors and students later on today.

00:01:22.940 Whenever I tour one of our world-class post-secondary institutions,

00:01:27.580 I am always reminded of the importance of what happens here

00:01:31.160 for our province and our economy.

00:01:34.380 The decisions we make in our colleges, universities, and polytechnics

00:01:38.020 obviously have a major impact

00:01:40.020 because this is where the future is being made the future of students

00:01:44.600 careers and lives and the future of our province and that's what brings us here

00:01:50.160 together today across Canada and around the world there is a high demand for the

00:01:55.380 expertise of skilled trades people we have seen apprenticeship registration

00:02:00.120 rising sharply over the past several years and demand for power engineers

00:02:05.040 and instrumentation technicians is growing in northwestern alberta particularly with two new

00:02:11.440 hydrogen and ammonia processing plants in the greenview industrial gateway and the county of

00:02:16.480 grand prairie so i'm pleased to announce today that alberta's government is investing 11.3 million

00:02:23.360 dollars for the development and building of a state-of-the-art power engineering lab here at

00:02:29.040 at the Grand Prairie campus of Northwestern Polytechnic.

00:02:38.140 The new facility will allow Northwestern Polytechnic

00:02:41.220 to welcome more students to these very high demand programs.

00:02:45.180 Besides upgraded and modern equipment

00:02:47.360 for third and fourth class power engineering training,

00:02:50.520 this investment will also create

00:02:52.380 new instrumentation laboratories,

00:02:54.680 making it possible to offer additional classes.

00:02:58.040 Students will be able to optimize their learning time

00:03:00.780 and join the workforce faster.

00:03:03.260 I know that one very significant issue

00:03:05.420 for people who live and work in our rural communities

00:03:08.240 is access to education programs and facilities.

00:03:11.980 When getting an education means a student

00:03:14.860 has to move far away from home

00:03:16.640 with considerable expense and living adjustments,

00:03:19.560 it can weigh heavily on their decision

00:03:21.960 as to whether they want to pursue that education or not.

00:03:25.300 By providing modern learning spaces,

00:03:27.260 not just here at Northwestern Polytech,

00:03:30.020 but across the province,

00:03:31.720 Alberta's government is offering more opportunities

00:03:34.640 for students to pursue rewarding careers closer to home.

00:03:38.540 That is most definitely a priority

00:03:40.600 of the government of Alberta.

00:03:42.500 Today's strategic investment of $11.3 million

00:03:45.680 for the new Power Engineering Lab

00:03:47.580 will jointly benefit Northwestern Polytech,

00:03:50.340 students, industry, and ultimately all Albertans.

00:03:54.300 As Minister of Advanced Education,

00:03:56.160 want to work with our post-secondary community to ensure our system, pardon me, our system remains

00:04:01.760 among the best in the world. Together let's make sure that Albertans can discover remarkable

00:04:07.440 opportunities no matter their background or what part of the province that they call home.

00:04:12.480 Let's keep Alberta moving forward. Thank you once again to all of you for being here today.

00:04:17.600 And now it's my pleasure to welcome the Chair of the Board of Governors for Northwest Polytech, Ms. Shawna Miller.

00:04:36.600 Thank you, Minister. There's a lot to celebrate today and we're certainly grateful for the investment in our campuses and the next generation of industry professionals.

00:04:45.600 As a polytechnic, we are committed to delivering programs that work.

00:04:50.680 NWP recognizes the importance of job-anchored post-secondary offerings that empower graduates with up-to-date industry skills and knowledge, as well as critical thinking and problem-solving ability.

00:05:03.420 Through career-focused education and practical industry experience, we are able to seamlessly launch our students directly from the classroom and into the workforce.

00:05:12.280 An integral part of that trajectory is timely exposure to the best facilities, equipment

00:05:18.960 and technology advances.

00:05:21.340 The province's $11.3 million investment into development of a power engineering and instrumentation

00:05:28.060 lab is pivotal.

00:05:30.440 Not only will it help NWP to deliver high quality graduates, but it will also ensure

00:05:34.940 that we are training the region, training the employees in the region they are most

00:05:40.960 needed.

00:05:41.960 Northwestern Alberta is teeming with potential.

00:05:45.000 Every day our signature industries are gaining momentum

00:05:47.800 and new regional opportunities are being revealed.

00:05:51.580 And NWP is here for it all.

00:05:53.960 Be it through education and health,

00:05:56.080 skilled trades, businesses,

00:05:57.860 and applied science and technology,

00:05:59.440 we are extremely proud to contribute

00:06:01.800 to Alberta's responsiveness and global competitiveness.

00:06:04.880 Thank you very much.

00:06:05.640 Thank you.

00:06:11.960 I'd now like to invite the mayor of Grand Prairie up, Ms. Jackie Clayton, for her remarks.

00:06:22.980 Good morning, everyone, and thanks so much to Minister Sani for traveling to Grand Prairie.

00:06:26.840 It is great to have her here and to see you all in the room today.

00:06:30.620 Grand Prairie City Council is very proud to be part of this announcement today.

00:06:33.680 The $11.3 million into Northwest Polytech will not only support education and job creation in our region,

00:06:40.900 and it aligns with Council's strategic priority

00:06:43.600 of innovative efficiencies and economic readiness.

00:06:47.100 The value of new investment

00:06:48.420 not only will create a modern innovative learning space,

00:06:51.840 it meets the increasing demands of our region

00:06:54.300 and specifically in the field of power engineering

00:06:56.560 and technology.

00:06:57.960 We look forward to the future growth and development

00:07:00.440 that this will allow students

00:07:01.900 and the opportunity that will help local kids

00:07:04.540 to complete education and enter the workforce

00:07:08.280 right here at home.

00:07:10.340 We're looking forward to the positive successes and the prosperity that the new power engineering lab at Northwest Polytech will bring and we thank the province for making the announcement today.

00:07:19.660 Thank you.

00:07:25.220 Thank you very much.

00:07:26.420 We are now ready to begin the press conference and question and answer.

00:07:29.340 We still have Tyler Olson to present some remarks on behalf of Greenview Industrial Gateway.

00:07:40.340 all right thank you excuse me this is an exciting time for the region marked by continuous economic

00:07:54.420 development growth in pivotal sectors such as industry energy forestry mining and agriculture

00:08:00.260 as these industries grow and evolve the demand for larger highly skilled workforces becomes evident

00:08:06.580 and the greenview industrial gateway progress is ongoing with essential infrastructure

00:08:10.500 development encompassing gas supply transportation rail ccs and securing a master license for

00:08:16.020 processing all this combined with the announcement today is going to increase activity in the area

00:08:22.340 upgrading natural gas at the source is a strategic forward-thinking approach is a

00:08:26.260 building block for current and future endeavors with the greenview industrial gateway it allows

00:08:30.980 for local production value-added products such as gasoline diesel hydrogen this not only meets

00:08:35.940 the region's energy needs but contributes the development of self-sustaining economy

00:08:40.260 reducing dependence on external sources for refined products expanding programs like power

00:08:45.780 engineering and instrumentation are crucial for several reasons these sectors are integral for

00:08:51.380 various industries including energy manufacturing technology as these industries grow demand for

00:08:58.020 skilled to press professionals increases the evolving landscape of technology and automation

00:09:03.540 requires a workforce a workforce with up-to-date skills and power engineering and instrumentation

00:09:09.460 expanding these programs ensures individuals entering the workforce are equipped to handle

00:09:13.780 the latest technologies and contribute to innovation dreamview has been working

00:09:18.420 collaterally with the city of grand prairie and the county of grand prairie to attract businesses

00:09:23.060 and industries region our goal is to increase investment job opportunities and overall regional

00:09:27.620 development with added programs to northwestern polytechnic can help meet our region's current

00:09:32.580 and future workforce demands individuals can now build stable rewarding and long-term careers by

00:09:38.100 creating a skilled workforce trains in these fields this is unique chance to build lifelong

00:09:42.980 career with the same organization an opportunity to grow receive advanced education secure well-paying

00:09:49.140 job and retire without ever leaving the grand prairie region the md of greenview would like

00:09:54.260 to congratulate Northwestern Polytechnic on this significant milestone and thank the province for

00:09:59.140 these additional funds. The city of Grand Prairie is a major step ahead for this area. Thank you.

00:10:12.260 Thank you Ree Bolton and that concludes the formal part of this announcement. Thank you

00:10:17.620 everyone for coming thanks very much we're now ready to begin we're now ready to begin the question

00:10:24.980 and answer segment of today's announcement every journalist will have the opportunity to ask an

00:10:30.180 opening question and one follow-up question i would ask all the journalists please please begin

00:10:36.900 by stating your name outlet and who your question is directed to i will begin with journalists in

00:10:45.300 the room please go ahead uh jesse boyley with town country news um i guess our first question would

00:10:53.780 be when can we start to see shovels in the ground for this kind of thing that is a great question

00:10:59.860 i'm hearing potentially in april and i'll have to get our new president to confirm that date

00:11:06.500 but that is the latest and greatest news and i know that it's supposed to be completed by 2026

00:11:12.260 vanessa do you want to add thank you minister yes she was correct on those dates so starting in

00:11:18.260 april and completion by 2026 and it's uh it's a build within our building so it's not a shovels

00:11:23.940 in the ground you'll see from the outside but from the inside you will thanks perfect thank you

00:11:29.140 and then minister i guess um this was in the budget line item i believe for the budget in

00:11:34.900 february last year and can we expect to see more expansion of other education programs in the area

00:11:41.060 i know you said you're looking at um you know things that we need in this area especially

00:11:47.220 one thing that we keep seeing is healthcare can we see more healthcare expansion coming in the

00:11:50.980 new budget well you know i can't answer those questions right i can't reveal all my budget

00:11:55.860 secrets but i i will um you know emphasize at the points that you made that grand prairie

00:12:02.020 is a very it's a very important region and the surrounding areas to the province in

00:12:06.260 terms of economic development so this is certainly one investment that is indicative of support and

00:12:12.260 we know that there is a working group of rural physician programs as well that's underway

00:12:18.100 and there was funding that was made available it was about a million dollars to get that

00:12:22.180 plan under underway as well so that is something that we are keeping a very close eye on

00:12:27.380 and we support that project but beyond that i really can't say too much more about what's in the

00:12:32.580 the budget. Hi, I'm Erica Rowling with Everything DP. So I'm just wondering with this coming

00:12:44.920 into the campus, how many seats is this going to open up for people in the region? So this

00:12:51.620 investment will result in about 60 additional spaces that will be created. And certainly

00:12:57.840 we are hoping that it will elicit more interest from students and parents and community members

00:13:04.000 across the province once they find out that this program is going to be fully funded we're going

00:13:08.400 to have a new lab in place but that's what we're looking at 60 additional seats and i don't know

00:13:13.200 if you can answer this one for me specifically but do you know what this new lab is going to

00:13:18.400 be replacing inside the building i think that is a question for vanessa yeah i don't think

00:13:24.880 you should go too far away vanessa you should stay here thanks so we're just finalizing the

00:13:31.280 the drawings in the location and so the spaces right now that where the lab will be going are

00:13:36.160 spaces that are have low utilization are not being used and so in our m wing um which is if you go

00:13:43.840 straight down the hall there i'm kind of close to the recital hall so the recital hall remains and

00:13:48.640 and then just off to the side.

00:13:50.940 Yeah, that's all I have.

00:13:52.520 Thank you.

00:13:53.720 Thank you, Erica.

00:13:56.440 Seeing no more questions in the room and on the phones,

00:13:59.980 we can conclude today's announcement.

00:14:02.000 Thank you very much.

00:14:03.660 Excellent.

00:14:04.260 Thank you, everybody.

Western Standard - January 29, 2024

Building learning spaces for power engineers

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