News Archives: Westen Diversification Canada Invests in Power Engineering at GPRC
Thursday, March 19th, 2015
Chris Warkentin, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Works and Government Services and Member of Parliament for Peace River, on behalf of the Honourable Michelle Rempel, Minister of State for Western Economic Diversification, announced a $230,300 investment for Grande Prairie Regional College (GPRC) to upgrade its power engineering lab.
The Harper Government’s top priority remains the economy. With this funding, the College will be able to expand their lab’s capacity with the purchase of specialized equipment. The equipment includes a steam turbine, an induction generator, and an advanced control panel, needed to upgrade the existing steam and power generation systems.
These enhancements to the College’s steam lab capacity will allow for an increased number of power engineers in rural communities to become certified. Increasing the accessibility of this training for northern Alberta will benefit small- and medium-sized businesses across the region by increasing their productivity so that they can continue to grow and thrive.
Quick Facts
• GPRC is a not-for-profit post-secondary institution providing high-quality credit and non-credit programming that responds to regional needs. Its power engineering lab is housed on its Fairview Campus, located 115 km north of Grande Prairie.
• Power engineers operate and maintain machinery and boilers that provide steam, power, heat, refrigeration and other services to industrial and commercial facilities.
• The demand for power engineers exists across Canada and is forecasted to increase in response to emerging technologies and the needs of many industries this trade serves.
• Funding is provided through the Western Diversification Program (WDP)
Quotes
“Our Government is committed to ensuring that Canadians have the necessary skills and training to fill available jobs in our economy. By supporting greater access to training we are demonstrating our continued commitment to Canada’s growth and long-term prosperity while helping to create jobs here in our region.”
- Chris Warkentin, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Works and Government Services, and Member of Parliament for Peace River
“We are delighted that the Government of Canada is making this investment on behalf of the learners of our region. GPRC is committed to providing responsive and timely opportunities in education which serve our students, support our industries, and strengthen our communities. This enhancement of our power engineering lab helps us to fulfil that commitment.”
- Don Gnatiuk, President and CEO, Grande Prairie Regional College