A large construction project is currently underway in Terrace, BC and it happens to be in CMTN’s backyard. The trades building renovation officially broke ground in March of 2017. The majority of the building has been gutted and the front entrance is completely demolished.
It is a project that will serve two purposes. The first is to improve the integrity of the 40 year-old building with structural upgrades. Second is to provide an improved student experience by transforming the front of the building into a two-storey commons area with added study space and technological impovements.
From the beginning, CMTN has included the community in this project. It is important local contractors, businesses and even former students are involved.
“As a publicly funded training institution, a critical requirement of the project is the local hiring of contractors; particularly current and former students,” said Kerry Clarke, CMTN Director of Facilities and Ancillary Services. “Prospective companies bidding on various parts of the project were required to detail their local hiring strategy.”
As a result, CMTN has already hired eight alumni. Among them are Linnea Waechter and Landen Archibald.
Linnea has completed two programs at CMTN. In 2012 she began her electrical training and is now a Red Seal certified electrician. She also enrolled in the Business Administration program in 2016. With these two backgrounds she was the perfect candidate for Project Administrator.
“It’s a blend of two core skills gained through my education,” said Linnea. “While I am new to administration, there are a lot of questions concerning construction (jargon, technical aspects, etc.) that I don’t need to ask because I have first-hand experience.”
This isn’t Linnea’s first time working at the College. In 2016 she worked for Houle Electric installing a new distribution system.
“It’s great that I don’t have to move away for work,” said Linnea. “As an electrician, it seemed inevitable that I would have to go away to work in camp. This feels like a rare opportunity to stay close to home and build something important to both myself and my community.”
Site Superintendent Landen Archibald came to CMTN in 2009 to start his carpentry training. He went on to finish all his apprenticeship levels at CMTN and is now Red Seal certified.
Working close to home is something Landen cherishes as well.
“This opportunity to build something nice for the community and be so close to home is pretty rare and worth a lot to me,” said Landen. “My kids will be coming through this college in the near future and it’s comforting to know they will have such great facility to train in.”
The project is broken down into separate phases so that it will be usable throughout the renovation. The new building is anticipated to be complete by Fall 2018.