Mar 21 2018

Loyalist College is Ontario’s destination College, known as a deliberate choice of students and community for quality programs, student engagement and applied research, enabled by a creative, innovative and supportive organizational and learning culture. Our more than 65 full-time programs and apprenticeships take students through a fully experiential learning environment with community engagement and hands-on opportunities to drive students to their personal career destination.

Skilled professionals, particularly in emerging labour markets such as architecture and building sciences, automotive, electrical, welding and manufacturing are in high demand. Students prepare for dynamic careers in those sectors by learning on the latest equipment in Loyalist’s Bay of Quinte Skills Centre and by making meaningful industry connections.

The W. Garfield Weston Foundation Fellowship

Mentorship is integrated through Loyalist’s skilled trades programs. Students have the opportunity to apply for The W. Garfield Weston Foundation Fellowship, which offers tuition and bursary incentives, as well as academic and professional support, to encourage students to train for and succeed in skilled trades careers. What began as a pilot project in 2013 with just 15 students and apprentices has since grown with support for more than 150 students entering skilled trades programs. During the course of their studies, recipients who maintain a specified minimum average may receive up to $4,000 in bursaries from The W. Garfield Weston Foundation and a tuition credit from the College. In addition, the Foundation has provided funding to support outreach activities, including PD events for teachers, to increase awareness of the opportunities in skilled trades.

Weston Fellows Stephen Zammitti and Rebecca Sweet and Loyalist student Cameron MacLean wanted to put their skilled trades training in welding, fabrication and mechanical techniques to work for a good cause. They partnered with Magic Wheelchair, a non-profit organization in the United States that builds custom “costumes” for children in wheelchairs and together they started Magic Wheelchair’s first international chapter. With assistance from more than 25 students in various disciplines across campus, Zammitti, Sweet and MacLean designed the Big Red Car from the TV show The Wiggles for Brady Wilson, a six-year-old from Belleville. Wilson has Cerebral Palsy and is partially blind with limited verbal skills.

Last spring, Weston Fellow Quintin Jolliffe, a then carpentry and renovation technician student, participated in an on-site, community-oriented project that enhanced the Trenton Fire Training Complex in Trenton. It’s a facility that’s used by volunteer firefighters with the Hastings-Prince Edward Mutual Aid Association. From framing and insulation to vapour and air barriers and interior and exterior finishes, Loyalist students and Weston Fellows helped build the centre’s new 6,000 square foot, three-bay garage which houses the centre’s fire trucks.

“The mentorship component of the Weston Fellowship inspired me to become a leader,” said Jolliffe. “I also gained a deeper sense of responsibility.”

Want to learn more about the skilled trades and technologies? Visit Loyalist College’s Belleville campus on Saturday, April 14, from 10 am to 1 pm, for Open House. Guests will have the chance to speak with faculty, staff, students and Weston Fellows, as well as tour The Bay of Quinte Skills Centre. At Open House, you can enter to win $1,000 towards your Loyalist tuition, and if you apply that day, you will be entered into a draw to win your application fee ($95 value). To begin your journey, register for Open House at loyalistcollege.com/openhouse.