Once again this year the Welding and Fabrication Techniques program built beds and participated in the Annual Kiwanis Bed Race held February 7th, 2015 at Ottawa’s Winterlude festival. Along with the Welding student’s entry, four other Algonquin based teams participated in the race. Watch this video clip to see our students, staff and faculty in action or click on this link to read the announcement from the Kiwanis club outlining the race and its history.
Tackle your labour shortages head onHydro Ottawa teamed with Algonquin College to groom next generation.
What if 40 per cent or more of your workforce was eligible for retirement within the next 10 years? Click here to read the article as it appeared in the February 4, 2015 edition of the Ottawa Business Journal.
Canada Apprentice Loan program, introduced in 2014 Federal Budget and long advocated for by Polytechnics Canada, will provide apprentices with an additional form of financial support in the form of interest free loans during their training.
(Ottawa, January 9, 2015) Hundreds of Algonquin College current and future apprentices could benefit from a new federal loan program, which is now open to Red Seal Trade apprentices.
The Canada Apprentice Loan program, a 10-year program announced in the 2014 federal budget, is designed to assist apprentices in completing their training, and to encourage more Canadians to consider a career in the skilled trades.
The program offers assistance of up to $4,000 to apprentices for a maximum of five periods of technical training. These loans are interest-free for up to six years, provided the apprentice is registered in an approved Red Seal Trade apprenticeship program.
The loans are intended to defray program costs, including educational fees, tools and equipment, living expenses and forgone wages.
“We believe this new program will make apprentices at all postsecondary institutions more successful in their studies,” says Cheryl Jensen, President, Algonquin College. “This program will help alleviate the financial worries faced by apprentices who step away from work to upgrade their skills. We applaud the government for recognizing the importance of supporting those pursuing a hands-on career in the skilled trades at polytechnic institutions like Algonquin College.”
“Canada Apprentice Loans will enable more apprentices to pursue the next level of their technical training at so many training institutions and organizations in Canada,” says Nobina Robinson, Chief Executive Officer of Polytechnics Canada. “These loans, complemented by many other supports the government has opened for trades trainees across Canada, will help to ease the risk faced by apprentices who have to resign from jobs to gain the next level of training and certification in their trade.”
For more information on the Canada Apprentice Loan program, visit www.pca-cal.ca.
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For more information, please contact:
Phil Gaudreau
Communications Officer, Algonquin College
Phone: 613-727-4623 ext 2091
Email: gaudrep@algonquincollege.com
Email preferred
Ken Doyle
Director of Policy, Polytechnics Canada
Phone: 613-688-0690
Email: kdoyle@polytechnicscanada.ca
About Algonquin College – www.algonquincollege.com:
The mission of Algonquin College of Applied Arts and Technology is to transform hopes and dreams into skills and knowledge, leading to lifelong career success. Algonquin College does this by offering hands-on, digitally connected applied learning in over 185 programs. Based in Canada’s capital, the Ottawa Valley, and Saudi Arabia, Algonquin College is the largest polytechnic institute in Eastern Ontario with 18,000 full-time and 37,000 part-time and online registrants.
About Polytechnics Canada – www.polytechnicscanada.ca
Polytechnics Canada is the voice of leading research-intensive, publicly funded colleges and institutes of technology. We are dedicated to helping colleges and industry create jobs for tomorrow through the innovation and talent of our students and graduates. Last year, Polytechnics Canada’s member institutions provided the technical training for over 40,000 apprentices in over 200 programs. Algonquin College is one of 11 Polytechnics Canada members.
The Algonquin Centre for Construction Excellence is once again being featured in the upcoming Doors Open Ottawa event, taking place Saturday June 7th from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. at many locations across the city. Doors Open Ottawa is the region’s largest heritage event, unlocking over 100 of the area’s most architecturally interesting and historically significant buildings, many of which are not normally open to the public on the first weekend in June, annually. Click on the following link to find out more details on this event.
On the April 1st season finale of the Rick Mercer Report, Sheet Metal Worker Apprenticeship grad and part-time teacher Kayla O’Brien worked with Rick to demonstrate some of the skills needed in the Sheet Metal trade. Rick was able to fashion a bucket used later in the segment to collect even more money for the Spread the Net challenge. Rick was on Campus again this year after Algonquin College raised the most money of any Canadian post-secondary institution in the Spread the Net student challenge. Spread the Net – founded in 2006 by the Honourable Belinda Stronach, P.C., and comedian Rick Mercer – has delivered close to 563,000 malaria-preventing bed nets to families in Liberia, Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania and Guinea. In the last two years Algonquin College has raised approximately $50,000 towards this worthy cause.
Visit Rick Mercer’s website to watch all of the video clips from this episode or if you just want to see Kayla’s appearance – fast forward to 4:15 of the “Rick and Spread the Net 2014 Part I” clip.
Click on this link to view a video featuring Kayla O’Brien, a former Sheet Metal Worker Apprenticeship student and employee of the College. Kayla discusses her life in the Sheet Metal trade and what makes working in Sheet Metal a fantastic career for her. If you are inspired by this video and want to learn more about the Sheet Metal Worker Apprenticeship program click here for a direct link to the program’s webpage.
Come visit the 25th Anniversary of the Edible Architecture competition being held in the Atrium of the ACCE building from 10- 11 a.m. on Friday, February 14. Witness the talents of our staff and students as they build melt-in-your-mouth architecture and design related masterpieces made entirely of candy and other edible materials, and vote for your favourite in the People’s Choice competition. See you there!
CTV News reported on some great news for trades related students on their February 11, 2014 report. Included in this report were two Algonquin College students, watch what they had to say here – http://www.ctvnews.ca/video?clipId=290683.