University College of the North (UCN) is spearheading the delivery of a comprehensive Heavy-Duty Mechanic Apprenticeship program in Thompson, MB. The program will be designed to help Northern and Indigenous students achieve their Red Seal and become Journeypersons by completing Levels 1 to 4. UCN will provide significant support to the apprentices during the program, especially in the first two levels, to help ensure their success. The program is expected to start in Thompson beginning in September 2024.
"Industry has told us that there is a significant need for Heavy-Duty Mechanics in the north," said Dr. Lynette Plett, Vice-President Academic and Research at UCN. "By offering all levels of the program in partnership with industry, and by supporting students throughout, UCN is helping to ensure the most efficient and effective approach to meeting this critical need."
Partnerships with other trainers, agencies, businesses, and educational institutions are required to deliver all program levels of Heavy-Duty Mechanic. UCN will work closely with Apprenticeship Manitoba, Assiniboine Community College, Economic Development Investment and Trade Manitoba, Indigenous communities and associations, industry partners, and the Northern Manitoba Sector Council. UCN has enlisted the help of Rob Penner, who previously served as the Associate Vice-President of UCN Community & Industry Solutions, to coordinate these partnerships.
"Rob Penner has an extensive industry network throughout the north and strong knowledge of the needs of northern Manitoba," said Doug Lauvstad, UCN's President and Vice-Chancellor. "Rob is the right person to help ensure all the right partners are at the table to plan the delivery of all levels of a Heavy-Duty Mechanic Apprenticeship program in Thompson."
A Heavy-Duty Mechanics Apprenticeship program in the north is part of a larger program expansion effort to respond to the needs of northern and Indigenous students, the communities they live in, and the industries that employ them.
