$5.5M carpenter's training building now open

THUNDER BAY – A third of local carpenters will retire by 2020 but a new building will ensure the next generation of tradespeople fills their shoes safely.

The smell of freshly-cut wood hung over the parking lot outside the $5.5-million Carpenters’ Local 1669 Training Centre on Tuesday as the Innova Business Park building opened its doors to the public for the first time.

Training centre president Wayne Sohlman said 200 among the 600 local carpenters will reach retirement age within five years and having a new space to train young workers, including two classrooms and practical learning spaces.

“It’s about educating a workforce so they can work on that site safely and return home to their family,” Sohlman said.

Minister of Northern Development and Mines Michael Gravelle announced $1 million in support for the project from the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation. He called the building “strategic economic infrastructure,” saying basing training programs in Thunder Bay will fuel growth in the workforce.

“This is truly looking towards the future in terms of looking to upgrade the training opportunities in the skilled trades, the carpenter’s union in particular but there will be other trade unions who will be training apprenticeships here as well,” Gravelle said.

“It’s a great structure. It’s going to allow some of the training that’s happened in other parts of the province. It can now happen here.”

Thunder Bay-Atikokan MPP Bill Mauro praised the carpenters’ investment, pointing out the building could foster growth in the labour market among other trades as well.

“This represents a very significant risk in investment and the future of trades in Northwestern Ontario and talking with Wayne and others it’s a way for us to repatriate some of that work that sometimes has to find its way out of Thunder Bay.”