More spaces to be added to trade and practical nursing programs

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New Brunswick's community colleges will be getting some help from the government, according to spending estimates presented in the legislature last month by Post-Secondary Education Minister Ed Doherty.

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PHOTO BY ANGELA FERGUSON

In addition to freezing community college tuitions, New Brunswick Community Colleges, including the Woodstock campus above, will be adding seats and programs to meet future workforce demands.

The $256 million in estimated spending includes a tuition freeze and an increase in the amount of spaces in trades programs.

"We made a commitment to reduce student debt for New Brunswickers," said Doherty

He said the $12 million in funding to universities will help address this, and the community college tuition – $2,600 for a 40-week program – will also stay fixed.

He also said there will be 341 more seats available in the province's trades programs as early as 2008.

Spread over various campuses, the additions will be in programs like carpentry, welding, electrical, plumbing, civil engineering and pipefitting, among others.

As well, the college network will add an anticipated 101 spaces to the practical nursing program, available in Woodstock, St. Andrews, Campus de Edmundston and Campus de la Peninsule acadienne.

"This is vitally important," said Doherty, "as we take the steps to meet the anticipated demand of skilled tradespeople."

This anticipated looming labour shortage is of concern to Bob Manning, chairman of the Benefits Blueprint.

"We need the trades opened up," he said, "It's one of the things we've identified early on."

But Manning said that even the 341 aren't enough.

"I don't think that even comes close to what they'll be needing to do," he said. "Even here in Saint John alone, we know that we're going to need to both upgrade and possibly relocate some of the programming related to our community colleges."

That includes a possible co-location of some community college courses with UNBSJ on the Tucker Park campus.

Manning said the $3.2 million Doherty allocated to capital improvements, like repairs and renovations to community college campuses, and the completion of some new training facilities- doesn't address the problem.

He said more is needed.

"It doesn't look to me like there's any recognition of that in the numbers that they're proposing right now," said Manning.

There is also $622,000 for the development of the English-language medical education program.

Français: Le gouvernement a augmenté les dépenses, a gelé les frais de scolarité des collèges communautaires et a augmenté les places au sein des programmes de métiers afin de fournir un meilleur accès aux Néo-Brunswickois à l'éducation postsecondaire.