St. Clair College is taking over management of the Valiant Training and Development Centre.
Since 2008 the centre has been training people in the skilled trades in order to fill a need in the industry, particularly for machinists. The Valiant group started the "Earn While You Learn" program that has seen over 400 candidates come through in the last eight years.
Originally the group was simply training for their own needs but continued with the training centre because of the shortage of workers in the industry.
"The industry needed a lot of help so we made a decision to keep in operational and we trained people for others and here we are today with the college because training belongs with the college and I think finally it's there," says Michael Solcz Sr., founder of the Valiant TMS Group of Companies.
President of St. Clair College Patty France says they are committed to keeping the "Earn While You Learn" going.
"I'm hopeful that not only can we continue what we're doing here but we can have an opportunity to expand some of that work integrated learning into some of the other skilled trades and engineering programs we have," says France.
The college will lease the building and the machines from the Valiant Group. It also adopts 11 employees in the partnership.
The first intake into the program through St. Clair College will likely occur in March.
"This is really world training and this is exactly what industry is looking for and when these students are done this program they are actually going from this place to their shops doing what's required," says Mike Ouellette, the manager of the program.
The two programs currently being offered are for youth ages 18-29 and includes six weeks of in-class workplace readiness training and 26 weeks on the shop-floor. The "Earn While You Learn" program includes six weeks in-class training and 36 weeks of intensive shop-floor training at the training centre.
