College unveils program to fill need for waste management technicians.

• Author: Ross, Ian

Kirkland Lake - The residue from the Adams Mine controversy and the Walkerton E. coil tragedy may create future employment opportunities for Northern College students.

The Kirkland Lake campus unveiled its waste facility technician program in September, a two-year diploma course designed to fill an emerging job market of skilled technicians in the waste management field.

"The program aims to have graduates who will be able to work in and work up to management at waste facility operations," says Lorrie Irvine, the college's community program development officer. The program has tremendous growth potential due to an increase in stringent waste management regulations in Ontario, she says.

In this first year, 14 students are enrolled in the compressed 64-week program and are scheduled to graduate by Christmas 2001.

The town's economic development has leaned towards increasing renewable resource-based industry, an industry that spawned major mega-projects such as the Adams Mine-Rail Cycle North garbage proposal. Irvine says the college was simply responding to the will, of the municipality towards environmental solution-based industries "and the waste facility management technician is exactly that."

Upon completion of the program, graduates will be equipped to work in a variety of entry-level positions in the field, and will have the basic management and business skills to organize, direct and control such...