Getting a jumpstart in the skilled trades: ground breaks on $2m Anishinabek skills training centre.

• Author: Kelly, Lindsay
• Position: TRAINING & EDUCATION

Students on Manitoulin Island and along Lake Huron's North Shore looking to learn a skilled trade will be able to kickstart their studies right at home, starting next fall, at the Anishinabek Skills, Innovation and Research Centre.

When complete, the $2-million, 9,000-square-foot facility will offer students introductory learning opportunities in a variety of trades, such as welding, construction, plumbing and electrical techniques.

The initiative is an expansion of Kenjgewin Teg (translated to "A Place of Knowledge" in English), a non-profit educational institute situated on the M'Chigeeng First Nation that started offering secondary and post-secondary educational courses in 1994. It has continued to expand its menu of services to include general interest courses, consultation services, and more.

This new chapter for Kenjgewin Teg stands in stark contrast to the first 17 years of the institution's life, when it was located in a cluster of portable buildings on a small plot of land on the First Nation.

The institute finally moved into a spacious, brand-new facility down the road in 2011. But the extra space it gained was quickly filled up as the institute tried to keep up with demand.

"We barely moved into our current facility and we already had outgrown it," said Stephanie Roy, Kenjgewin Teg's executive director, which is part of the reason why the new skilled trades centre is so important.

"It was a long time coming, and there's just so much support, and, I think, for Manitoulin, it's a good thing."

Of the cost, $1.8 million is being provided by the federal government's Post-Secondary Institutions Strategic Investment Fund, while Kenjgewin Teg will contribute $225,000.

Roy said a facility offering experiential training has always been part of the organization's vision.

"I think part of what has always been the impetus for us is really looking at how we can support and create an Aboriginal workforce in the North that looks at experiential training, hands-on training and really the specialized skills trades training," Roy said.

"Our long-term plan has always recognized that we need to look at a proper facility to be able to offer this suite of hands-on skills training for our youth, for anyone on Manitoulin Island."

In particular, it wants to help prepare Indigenous learners to gain the skills to be able to work anywhere in the country, or the world.

Kenjgewin Teg serves a membership of eight First Nation communities: Aundeck Omni Kaning...