Hub Staff

Post Secondary education is making its way to Saugeen Shores as Fanshawe College expands its Huron Bruce regional sites to Saugeen District Secondary School with a full-time Carpentry and Renovation Techniques Certificate Course.

Heather MacKenzie-Card, Academic Service Consultant for Fanshawe spoke to Saugeen Shores Council during the February 26 Committee of Whole where she gave details on the program that could begin in September 2018 or 2019. The Certificate program is a two term, OSAP eligible course consisting of 15 week semesters held at night, three times a week. MacKenzie-Card said that Saugeen Shores is one of the fastest growing communities in Bruce County and Fanshawe wants to provide programs for skill-sets in need.

“We felt that we know that there is a skill demand and labour demand for this type of skill set and we believe that there is a number of people in the community that would be engaged in this program,” said MacKenzie-Card.

Fanshawe has post secondary education already taking place across Bruce and Huron counties including satellite courses in Goderich, Clinton, Stratford, Kincardine and Tiverton. While Kincardine focuses on Personal Support Worker training, Project Management Specialist Certificate, Health Care Office Certificate, Excel and Payroll, the Tiverton location, which is based at the Bruce Technology Skills Training Centre, teaches an Electrical Techniques Certificate, Welding Techniques Certificate, Mechanical Engineering Technician, as well as a Industrial Millwright Diploma.

Councillor Dave Myette was happy that Fanshawe would be offering something in the trades that differs from the Nuclear sector. “It’s very difficult to find people, and [carpentry and renovation is] an area where there’s definitely a shortfall. It would be a great opportunity for those men and women who can build those skills and get employed in a very busy industry that we have going here,” said Myette who asked what more could Fanshawe bring to the area in terms of courses.

“The way Fanshawe sets things up in local communities is we look at local needs in the community, we look at the infrastructure that’s there... we look at what’s available locally in your community and that’s why we’re looking at the high schools because we know there is space right now,” said MacKenzie-Card, adding, “it’s about capacity and what we can do in the community to build that capacity.”

Fanshawe is looking to hire local teachers for the course including someone who can teach math. “We always need math teachers,” said MacKenzie-Card.

The course will have availability for 10 to 12 students. Anyone interested can contact Heather MacKenzie-Card at hmackenzie-card@fanshawec.ca or 519-606-1485.