A provincial grant has made Vancouver Island University the only institution on the Island where students can get a fourth-class power engineering certificate.
There is a high demand for power engineers across Canada, but long wait lists at institutions that currently offer the program, said instructor Gilbert Requena, in a press release.
"If you look at industry job sites, there are always openings for power engineers, so graduates of our program will be able to find interesting, well-paid work fairly easily," he said. "Graduates can work at pulp mills, gas and oil refineries, hospitals and schools – basically any organization where there is high-pressure equipment that needs to be managed or monitored."
The program, made possible by a $144,000 grant from the Ministry of Advanced Education, Innovation and Technology, starts March 25. The first three months are spent in the classroom, with work experience from June to August, then a return to the classroom for more theory work and graduation set for the first week in November.
The university has received a commitment from local industry to provide practicum training placements for most of the first class and the program will include an introduction to gas processing certificate to give students an edge once they complete the program and start looking for work.
For more information, please contact Carolyn Eveleigh, area secretary in the faculty of applied programs, trades and applied technology, at Carolyn.eveleigh@viu.ca or 250-740-6149 or visit www.viu.ca/calendar/TradesAppliedTech/powerengineering.asp.