Reducing Barriers with Tuition-Free Trades

ASSINIBOINE TUITION-FREE

TRADES PROGRAMS DELIVER OPPORTUNITIES without barriers

Two tuition-free programs are providing Indigenous learners the skills they need to hit the ground running in in-demand fields in Manitoba.

The Heavy Duty Technician program welcomed 12 Indigenous students in December 2021, funded through a partnership with Algonquin College of Applied Arts and Technology and Indigenous Youth Development Canada.

The Agriculture Equipment Operator program provided an opportunity to 15 students starting this past February, funded through a partnership with the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples (CAP).

Both programs were chosen specifically to address gaps in their respective industries.

The agriculture industry is facing an aging workforce combined with the lack of skilled general farm workers and less people getting into the farm industry, said Brad Hack, Coordinator, Job Skills and Industry Certifications in Assiniboine’s Centre of Continuing Studies. It’s projected that 5,300 agriculture jobs in Manitoba—one in five—will go unfilled by 2029.

“[The students] will have a really good base for assisting employers with a farm operation,” Hack said. “After their two-week work placement where they get those real-life environmental skills on an operation, they’ll be job ready.”

It’s also an important step in reconciliation, he said. “Indigenous people were here first, and know the land better, so let’s try and get more Indigenous people back into working the land and into farming,” Hack said.

The Heavy Duty Technician program is also in demand, said Assiniboine’s Chair of Mechanical Trades, Lloyd Carey.

“When we were first looking into programs that would be beneficial (to be offered tuition-free) it was the first one that came to mind,” Carey said. “I knew the number of students that we’ve already put through and if we could help some more people get into it, it would be a really good thing.”

Students who complete the program gain credit for their Level 1 common core apprenticeship accreditation, allowing them to branch out even further into Heavy Duty Equipment, Agricultural Equipment or Truck and Transport specializations.

Heavy Duty Technician student, Josh Papequash, plans to use his experience and accreditation from this program to propel him to an eventual Red Seal in Heavy Duty Equipment.

“I was looking into going back to school for some time, but work was too much of a priority. I was tired of being stuck on the same level, living paycheck to paycheck. Then my partner mentioned the course to me, and with me wanting a career instead of a job I jumped at the opportunity,” he said. Much like the students coming out of the Agriculture Equipment Operator program, Heavy Duty Technician graduates will be wellrounded, entry-level technicians in their field.

“I was talking to an instructor who is working with the class, and he said he'd put this class up against any apprenticeship class,” said Carey. “He’s usually an apprenticeship instructor, so he’s working with people who’ve had a couple years in the trade already, so for him to make a comment like that while working with students who are basically starting from scratch — I was pretty happy to hear that.”

As for the students, both Carey and Hack said they seemed to be really enjoying their respective programs with an unmatched work ethic.

“This program has given me the chance to improve my skillset. With that, along with the hands-on knowledge of our instructors, I feel confident to step forward on this career path,” said Papequash.

“It’s the little things that make a difference, so if a student can get into this course, and get their life on a better track, that’s all we really ask for,” said Carey. “I don’t think there’s anyone at the college who isn’t there to try and help students get ahead.”