Georgian College has officially opened its Centre for Sustainable Technologies, the newest of its buildings on the Barrie Campus.
The Centre opened in September 2009 with a ribbon-cutting ceremony involving bucket trucks from Hydro One and PowerStream, both major donors to the $8-million building. It houses numerous Georgian programs, including new offerings aimed at the construction industry and electrical utilities sector.
Key participants in the opening event were Barrie MPP Aileen Carroll, representing Ontario Training, Colleges and Universities Minister John Milloy, Laura Formusa, CEO, Hydro One, and Brian Bentz, CEO, PowerStream.
Creation of the building is part of Georgian’s strategy to continue to offer quality programs that can lead students to jobs in growth industries. Much-needed corporate training certificates, seminars and programs will be made available to further respond to industry educational needs.
Applied research opportunities will allow industry to work with Georgian students to solve industrial and technical challenges.
Georgian President and CEO Brian Tamblyn said the building project began to take shape in 2008 when the Ontario government announced a $4.65-million investment through the Strategic Skills Training Capital Investment Program.
“The funding announcement came at a critical time for Georgian as we were facing two significant challenges and priorities,” Tamblyn said.
“First, the provincial investment allowed the College to address serious capacity issues at a time when our classrooms and labs have been stretched to the limit. Second, the centre greatly strengthens our ability to provide timely education and skills training urgently needed by our many industry partners.”
“However, even with the generosity of the provincial government, this building could never have been completed as a premier facility without the additional support of our corporate partners and friends,” he said.
Hydro One and PowerStream, in particular, made generous donations to help support the new Electrical Engineering Technician – Power program, which will provide graduates with the knowledge they need to succeed in jobs in Ontario’s electrical utilities sector.
Similarly, the Ontario Sewer and Watermain Construction Association, the Ontario Road Builders Association and the Simcoe County Heavy Construction Association are looking forward to a stream of graduates from the new Civil Engineering programs (Civil Engineering Technician – Construction and Civil Engineering Technology).
Another major donor is the Schroeter family and Napoleon Fireplaces and Grills.
Student Jonathon Bradley, who will graduate from the current three-year Electrical Engineering Technology program, also spoke at the opening.
“Like all students, I have always dreamed of having a career that I knew would offer me a lot of room for growth and advancement. Thanks to Georgian, I am going to fulfill that goal,” Bradley said.
“I’m now in interviews to secure a position at a leading Ontario utility. I cannot tell you how excited I am about my future. If and when I am hired, I know they’ll hire me for my brains and not my brawn – with a Georgian education there is no limit to how far I can go with my career in utilities.”
Eric Broger, Chair of the Georgian College Board of Governors, thanked all donors, both public and private, for their generosity and noted the contributions of the College’s Power of Education Campaign in raising more than $19 million towards its goal of $25 million for this and other Georgian projects.
The grand opening event also featured tours and classroom demonstrations featuring student activities from a variety of programs.
PHOTO: Brian Bentz, President and CEO of Power Stream (left) Bob Emptage Dean, Engineering Technology, Georgian College and Laura Formusa, President and CEO of Hydro One, watch as the ribbon to open the new Centre fo Sustainab le Technologies building comes apart when pulled by two bucket trucks from the power utilities.