Lockheed Martin

Saskatchewan Indian Institute of Technologies Partnership with Lockheed Martin

High marks are given to the Saskatchewan Indian Institute of Technologies (SIIT) and their pursuit of opportunities under Canada’s Industrial and Regional Benefits (IRB) Program. Attracting defence contractors such as Lockheed Martin to invest in the First Nation post-secondary institution is the outcome of high level transactions that are related to prime contractors’ obligations to Canada under military procurement requirements.

SIIT began discussions with Lockheed Martin in 2005 regarding the establishment of an Aircraft Maintenance Engineering Program (AME). In 2008 Lockheed Martin invested $1.5M into the program which helped to trigger other investments from the likes of Boeing and Rockwell Collins, two other world class defence contractors. The IRB resources (close to $3M) now form the core of a public private partnership that is the foundation of the Saskatchewan Aviation Learning Center, a 25,000 sq ft training facility located at the Saskatoon Airport. The partners include the Saskatoon Airport Authority who provided the land, Western Economic Diversification with a capital investment and the Province of Saskatchewan which has provided the on-going operating resources for the program.

Lockheed has continued its partnership with SIIT with the recent investment of an additional $100,000 on May 25th. On June 25th Lockheed Martin announced a CA$3.5 million donation of a package of training materials to the school’s Aviation Maintenance and Engineering (AME) faculty. This package includes courseware and instructor’s materials for training in more than three-dozen engineering disciplines including systems engineering, quality assurance, and logistics.

The responsiveness on the part of this world class defence contractor to the needs of a growing institution such as SIIT is remarkable. SIIT is one of the few colleges in Canada who have consistently and strategically targeted Industrial and Regional Benefits as a strategic tool for the growth and development of the institute. In fact building partnerships with some of the largest aerospace and defence companies in the world has significantly enhanced SIIT’s competitive advantage.

The event on June 25th was heralded by Minister Yelich, Minister Norris and Minister Hutchinson as well as the Honorable Bill McKnight, Treaty Commissioner It is feasible that this type of public private partnership will soon be recognized as a “Best Practice” within the IRB realm.