NORTHERN ALBERTA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
NAIT brings industry leaders together in new Skilled Trades Council

As Alberta's economy relies on the strength of its skilled workforce, NAIT is proud to announce a new Skilled Trades Council. This group of leaders will provide critical industry voices as NAIT advances the planning and design of the Advanced Skills Centre (ASC).   

NAIT is pleased to welcome: 

• Naseem Bashir, P.Eng. (Co-Chair), Executive Chair, Originus Ltd. 
• Doreen Cole (Co-Chair), Alberta Energy Executive 
• Carla Madra, CEO, Women Building Futures 
• Jason Portas, Vice President, PCL Construction 

Biographies of the Skilled Trades Council members are available on the Advanced Skills Centre page.

These accomplished business leaders and trades champions will draw on their individual and collective experience and insight to champion the ASC's role in addressing Alberta's skilled trades crisis.  

Alberta's demand for skilled tradespeople is at its peak. According to BuildForce Canada, Alberta must recruit and retain 59,000 construction trades professionals within the next decade. Combined with ambitious building projects from provincial and federal governments, the need for an already-stretched skilled labour pool will continue to grow. 

Once built, the Advanced Skills Centre will substantially expand Alberta's training capacity for carpenters, electricians, plumbers, gasfitters, heavy equipment technicians and many other skilled trades by up to 5,500 students each year. This state-of-the-art centre will future-proof NAIT's learning environment by mirroring the realities of modern worksites and ensuring students are fully prepared to begin their careers. 

Quotes

"Highly respected in their fields, Naseem, Doreen, Carla and Jason are all uniquely positioned to champion the Advanced Skills Centre with key stakeholders and industry sectors" said Laura Jo Gunter, President and CEO. "NAIT thanks the Skilled Trades Council members for their leadership in elevating the conversation about the essential role skilled trades play in securing Alberta's future." 

"I'm excited to serve as an ambassador for this visionary project," said Naseem Bashir, P.Eng., Skilled Trades Council Co-Chair "As the competition for tradespeople intensifies across the country, the Advanced Skills Centre will give Alberta a competitive edge, allowing us to transform more young Albertans into the skilled workforce we need to build our shared future."  

"As our province looks to the future, NAIT has a role to play in cultivating the skills and knowledge we need to grow and diversify our economy," said Doreen Cole, Skilled Trades Council Co-Chair. "The Advanced Skill Centre is a made-in-Alberta solution to the serious and growing skilled labour shortage. I'm honoured to work with my fellow council members to find a path forward for this critical project." 

"By attracting traditionally underrepresented groups, including women, to the trades, the Advanced Skills Centre is a timely solution to Alberta's skilled labour shortage," said Carla Madra, Skilled Trades Council member. "I look forward to working with the rest of the council to make NAIT's ambitious vision into a brick-and-mortar reality."  

"Across construction, energy, manufacturing, and transportation, Alberta's critical sectors are feeling the strain of an unprecedented skilled labour shortage," said Jason Portas, Skilled Trades Council member. "The Advanced Skills Centre is the right project at exactly the right time. With NAIT's proven track record, the ASC will accelerate the development of job ready tradespeople and strengthen the workforce our industry depends on to deliver the projects that keep this province moving."