February 8, 2007 - 4:00pm
Jarrid Franklin and James McCormick are receiving a helping hand from Malaspina University-College.
The two students each received $1,000 scholarships to offset the cost of their education as they train for new careers.
Franklin, 21, moved to Nanaimo from Kitimat, while McCormick, 22, is from the Queen Charlotte Islands. Both are enrolled in Malaspina’s innovative nine-month Pulp and Paper Operations certificate program, which trains new employees for BC’s pulp and paper industry.
“With anticipated retirements, there’s a growing demand for people with the right training at mills throughout BC,” said Fred MacDonald, Dean of Trades Applied Technology. MacDonald recently returned from northwestern BC where he met with industry representatives and heard first-hand about the demand for trained workers.
Malaspina’s industry-driven curriculum in Pulp and Paper Operations includes courses that help students’ develop knowledge of the science, processes, and equipment used in pulp and paper manufacturing.
“Our program takes industry training standards and new employees into the future,” said program coordinator John Marshall. “Our trainees receive a strong educational and technical background in pulp and paper operations.”
Initial results are impressive. Over 90 percent of trainees who completed the program in the past two years have permanent job placements. “We’re also seeing more gender equity in enrolments,” added Marshall, “and we consistently receive positive feedback from employers.”
Graduates are employed all over the province by Catalyst Paper Corp. (Crofton, Elk Falls, and Powell River Divisions); Eurocan Pulp & Paper in Kitimat; Neucel Cellulose in Port Alice; Pope & Talbot, Harmac Operations in Nanaimo; and Zellstoff Celgar in Castlegar.
It’s no wonder Franklin is optimistic about his future. He left a good paying job in the oil fields in Grande Prairie to take Malaspina’s Pulp and Paper Operations program.
“I worked 16 hours a day in the oil fields,” he said. “Last year, I became a new father and wanted a job with better hours. That’s why I’m re-training.”
After graduation next September, Franklin plans to return to Kitimat and hopefully land a full-time job at the Eurocan mill. Eurocan officials visited Malaspina last year to recruit students from the program and are expected at graduation again this year.
Malaspina’s next Pulp and Paper Operations program starts in October 2007. Applications are now being accepted. For more information, go to www.viu.ca.
Tags: In the Community
