Georgian’s Centre for Skilled Trades gets expansion funding from county

Thanks to $2.5 million in funding from the County of Simcoe and the Gene Haas Foundation, the College is set to expand and upgrade its skilled trades courses

One in six job openings will be in skilled trades next year.

The above Ontario Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills estimate is only one of the indications Simcoe County’s new $1.5 million funding for expansion at Georgian College is on the level.

The funding announcement comes at a time when the Barrie college’s catchment area has more than double the growth rate for skilled trades at 27 per cent, than the provincial average of 12 per cent.

Through this project, the college will modernize its existing building and add almost 20,000 square feet.

The new facility will offer trades in robotics, artificial intelligence and advanced digital technologies.

“For almost 60 years, Georgian has been an experienced and trusted workforce development partner, and we know how important the skilled trades are to a variety of sectors in our region,” said Kevin Weaver, president and CEO of Georgian College.

“The skilled trades are one of our areas of strength and continue being responsive to industry needs. To offer our students an unrivaled skilled trades learning environment, we need to modernize our centre to the challenges of Industry 4.0,” Weaver said.

The expanded Centre for Skilled Trades will include a new lab for heating, refrigeration and air conditioning, as well as major renovations to the lab for carpentry and machining programs. A second and third-floor addition will host collaborative spaces with energy-efficient designs.

“Our $1.5 million investment in Georgian College’s Centre for Skilled Trades isn’t just building up local infrastructure – it’s engineering our future,” said Simcoe County’s Warden Basil Clarke.