Fleming College

$35 million, 80,000-square-foot facility proposed to province;Upcoming federal and provincial budgets provide opportunity for infrastructure investment to support education and skills trainingFleming College has submitted to the province a proposal for a $35 million, 80,000-square-foot skills training facility to be located on the college’s Sutherland Campus on Brealey Drive in Peterborough. The Kawartha Skilled Trades Institute, through a unique partnership with education and industry, will teach and train students from regional secondary schools, Fleming College and regional industry. The facility will provide new space and equipment for training in areas such as carpentry, masonry, welding, plumbing and machining. The upcoming federal and provincial budgets provide an opportunity for investment in the project.“While most discussion at the federal level has focused on investments in municipal infrastructure or provincial highways, colleges across the country face chronic space shortages, forcing them to turn students away when they should be opening their doors to help with Canada’s skills shortage,” said Fleming College President Tony Tilly.Given the unique nature of the partnership, the college is seeking support from the provincial Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities, the Ministry of Education, and the new Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure.“At Fleming College we are struggling with a small, outdated facility that houses our growing Skilled Trades programs on Bonaccord Street in Peterborough. The Kawartha Skilled Trades Institute would alleviate the space shortage we are facing and create a state-of-the-art training facility for our community – with sustainable shop facilities, smart-wired classrooms, and labs with the latest technology. At the same time, the project would create jobs within our local economy,” said President Tilly.“As Canada’s most important skills training institutions, our colleges badly need an infusion of capital to help them expand and upgrade their infrastructure and acquire leading-edge technology,” he added. “With Canada facing a skills crisis and a deepening recession, the federal and provincial governments must include investments in our colleges in their economic stimulus budgets.“Investing to upgrade and expand our colleges will produce the best return on the taxpayer’s dollar. In our community and across the country, this investment will create jobs and leave a legacy of upgraded training institutions that will help Canada compete in the global economy,” concluded President Tilly.More information is available on the college’s website at www.flemingcollege.ca/ksti.     – 30 -For more information: Laura Copeland, Communications Officer, 705-749-5530 x 1370 or copeland@flemingc.on.ca