KAMLOOPS – Ground was officially broken today to mark the start of construction for the new $30-million Industrial Training and Technology Centre at Thompson Rivers University (TRU).
The new 5,344-square-metre centre will allow the university to expand its trades and technology programs by an additional 550 full-time equivalent student spaces (FTEs), for a total of approximately 2,142 FTEs. The renovated space in the School of Trades and Technology Building will be used by the architectural and engineering technology program.
The Government of Canada contributed $13.25 million and the BC Ministry of Advanced Education provided $7.03 million toward the $30-million cost of the project. TRU and donors, including Western Economic Diversification Canada, contributed an additional $9.72 million.
Completion of the Industrial Training and Technology Centre is expected in the spring of 2018 with occupancy in the fall of 2018. Construction of the new centre is expected to generate 108 direct and 82 indirect jobs for the region.
The total investment in the Province of British Columbia through the Post-Secondary Institutions Strategic Investment Fund is $671 million including:
- $256 million from the Government of Canada;
- $269 million from the Province of British Columbia; and
- $146 million from post-secondary institutions and donors.
Nearly one million job openings are expected in BC over the next decade, and eight out of 10 of these openings will require post-secondary education. In-demand occupations requiring post-secondary education or training range from professional to management to trades.