The new building at College of New Caledonia is as heavy duty as the machines inside and the education students will get as they work on them.
CNC staff and students were joined by dignitaries of all kinds for the grand opening Monday, including Melanie Mark, the provincial minister of Advanced Education, Skills and Training.
"Students will be positioned for success in the trades with the new Heavy Mechanical Trades Facility in Prince George," said Mark.
"These students are building the best B.C. by diagnosing, maintaining, repairing and operating equipment and vehicles that keep our province growing and moving. Our government is working hard so students throughout B.C. can access the skills to thrive."
The new building was built for the LEEDS Gold environmental designation, pending final construction analysis. It was a $18.5-million construction project that more than replaced the facility CNC was renting off-campus to house the heavy-duty mechanics education programs prior to this new building.
Frank Rossi, dean of CNC's School of Trades and Technologies, said the college was already able to add an entire new class, thanks to the new space. The education quality was going to go up because the many new features of the building would now allow for more kinds of machines to be studied and worked on by students, plus the interior working conditions were now improved as well.
The Heavy Mechanical Trades Facility can now accommodate 251 full-time-equivalent spaces, and up to 48 new spaces, in the Heavy-Duty Equipment Technician and Truck and Transport Mechanics programs.
Heavy Mechanical Trades students inspect, service and repair heavy trucks, commercial trucks, buses, diesel engines, transport trailers, cranes, graders, drills, bulldozers and other heavy equipment.
One of those students, Ryan Bachand, came to CNC while still a high school student at Kelly Road Secondary School, and he is now closing in on completion of his full Heavy-Duty Mechanical Trades certifications. He grinned about what he called vast improvements compared to the old building.
"We're not standing shoulder to shoulder with the next student," he said, explaining that tight quarters in those fields were neither educationally helpful nor even particularly safe compared to the new facilities.
"As a student, I appreciate the work that has been done to improve my learning and further education for those interested in the heavy duty mechanic trade," he said.
"I am very happy and excited to continue my learning in this new building."
CNC president Henry Reiser said this project has spanned his tenure at the college and he was thrilled to see it finally open.
He thanked the federal and provincial governments for their financial contributions to the construction ($6.9 million from the Government of Canada and $10.1 million from the province) which covered most of the bills, allowing CNC to invest strategically in this building (the college contributed $1.5 million of their own dollars).
"The college works with local and regional employers and industry to ensure that we're equipping our students with the skills that are needed in the workplace," Reiser said.
"Providing responsive, relevant and quality training positions our students for success. The strength of CNC's programming includes practical hands-on training. The new Heavy Mechanical Trades Facility will enable students to develop the skills that employers are looking for."
