New trades trailer will help train Yukon residents

1 of 2The mobile trades trailer will be able to offer apprenticeship programs for millwright, welding and more. — Archbould Photography photo

2 of 2Inside the mobile trades trailer. — Photo courtesy ITD mobile trailer

An amazing apprenticeship opportunity will be cruising through the Yukon later this year. Thanks to $1.8 million in funding from Yukon Education and the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency (CanNor), a new mobile trades trailer is being deployed to the territory.

Shelagh Rowles, executive director for the Centre for Northern Innovation in Mining, said the mobile trades trailer will be a first for northern Canada.

"What this trailer means is it will have the opportunity to be able to deliver apprenticeship training anywhere in the territory where there is a road," she said. "Up until now, we've had situations where we could do some carpentry because there may be some construction projects in the community, but we really haven't been able to do more industrial-type apprenticeship training such as welding, heavy duty mechanic or millwright. This trailer will be outfitted to do that and so it will create far more opportunities for people to participate in apprenticeship programs anywhere in the territory."

Rowles said the 53-foot-long trailer from Innovative Trailer Design Industries in Mississauga, Ontario, will have expandable sides to provide 1,048 square feet of instructional space. It will be outfitted for classes in welding, electrical, millwright and piping, with an onboard diesel generator to provide power for heating, lighting, equipment and wireless Internet.

"This trailer is amazing," she said. "It can accommodate up to 12 welding booths. We've never had the like. I think it will provide communities with a level of dignity for trades training that they've never had before."

Yukon Education is providing $1.1 million in funding for the mobile training lab, pending legislative approval, with CanNor covering the remaining $700,000. The trailer is set to be delivered this September and will stop in different areas for the length of each program.

The first stop for the trailer will be Dawson City, Yukon, where the plan is to deliver a pre-employment welding program starting January 14, 2014. It is a five-month program, so the trailer will be parked there for five months.

Another exciting aspect of this program, according to Rowles, is that it will be a combination high school/adult program so students can receive dual credit apprenticeship training.

"Kids from grade 11 or 12 would be eligible to participate and have the program go towards credits for their high school graduation," said Rowles. "Then they will be able to write their level one apprenticeship exam upon completion. At the same time, we will open it up to adults in Dawson. The dual credit program is a win-win for the community."

Similar trailers have successfully delivered training in northern Ontario and northern Saskatchewan and are proven to function well in winter temperatures.

"We're very excited about it," said Rowles. "We've talked about it a lot with First Nations and other community representatives and all are very excited about arrival of trailer and the opportunity it will provide for folks and their communities."