SALC Grand Opening Media Release
Saskatchewan Aviation Learning Centre (SALC) Grand Opening
On Friday, October 29, 2010 please join SIIT and their partners in the official Grand Opening of the SALC. The event is taking place at #19- 2725 Koyl Avenue in Saskatoon at 10:30 am.
The Saskatchewan Aviation Learning Centre is a partnership of the Saskatchewan Indian Institute of Technologies (SIIT), the Government of Canada (Western Economic Diversification and Industry Canada), the Province of Saskatchewan, and the Saskatoon Airport Authority. The new 25,000 sq.ft facility houses SIIT’s Aircraft Maintenance Engineering Program and the Saskatchewan Institute of Applied Sciences and Technology’s (SIAST) Commercial Pilot Program. SIIT secured investments from aerospace and defence companies Boeing, Rockwell Collins, and Lockheed Martin under Canada’s Industrial and Regional Benefits policy to support development of its aviation trades training programs.
“SIIT is very excited to announce the grand opening of the Saskatchewan Aviation Learning Centre. We are pleased to see all the hard work and effort pay off. All of the students are impressed with the new surroundings. This is the first training program and facility of its kind in Saskatchewan. We have great partners and friends to thank and share in the success,” said President and CEO Randell Morris of Saskatchewan Indian Institute of Technologies.
“The provincial government is proud to work with SIIT, the federal government and the aviation industry partners to bring aircraft maintenance engineering training to First Nations learners and others right here in Saskatchewan,” Minster of Advanced Education Employment and Immigration Rob Norris said. “This program will help meet the strong labour market demand for aviation maintenance training and, given the partnership between SIAST and SIIT, keeps our learners and employees in Saskatchewan.”
“These investments are further examples of our Industrial and Regional Benefits Policy at work,” said the Honourable Tony Clement, Minister of Industry. “Through the application of the IRB Policy, the Government is supporting aviation education and helping train pilots for the future."
“Our Government was proud to have invested in the construction of the new Saskatchewan Aviation Learning Centre,” said MP Rob Clarke. “The Centre will create skilled jobs right here in our community, while positioning Saskatoon as an aviation leader.”
“Lockheed Martin is proud to support a program such as the Aerospace Maintenance Engineering training program, one that will support the growing needs of the local and national aerospace industries for AME technicians,” said Steven Wylong, Director of Industrial Participation, Lockheed Martin Maritime Missions Systems and Sensors. “Lockheed Martin believes in contributing to education and providing training opportunities for AME students to gain first-hand knowledge of support and maintenance for Lockheed Martin products.”
“Through the Aircraft Maintenance Engineer program and earlier investments Boeing made to help establish an SIIT computer lab, First Nations youth are gaining the required knowledge necessary to enter the aviation trades workforce,” said Gwen Kopsie, Director of International Strategic Partnerships for Boeing Defense, Space & Security. “Boeing continues to build on its 90-year partnership with Canada through Industrial & Regional Benefits programs that benefit Canadian workers, Canadian industry, as well as Universities and Post Secondary Institutions such as SIIT.”
“Rockwell Collins is pleased to contribute and support SIIT’s new Learning Centre that will provide educational opportunities for aerospace maintenance engineers – which are in great demand,” says LeAnn Ridgeway, Rockwell Collins Vice President and Managing Director for the Americas. “We welcome the opportunity to participate in this important initiative that will result in many more qualified engineers in Canada and ultimately will enhance the safety of aircraft throughout the industry.”
Janet Kiem, President of Saskatchewan Aviation Council says “this building, together with the AME and Commercial Pilot Program, is our legacy to Saskatchewan aviation and a very significant achievement in Canadian aviation training. Everyone involved takes great pride in a job well done.
“The Saskatchewan Aviation Learning Centre is an outstanding example of the role the Saskatoon Airport Authority plays as an economic facilitator in our community,” comments Nancy Hopkins, Chairperson for the Saskatoon Airport Authority Board of Directors. “We are very pleased to be involved with such a worthwhile project and are confident it will be a significant contributor to the development and training of a workforce that will support the aviation industry of this province for many years to come.”
“Accommodations in SIIT’s new aviation centre offers SIAST’s Commercial Pilot students a number of benefits, not the least of which is being at the centre of aviation in Saskatoon,” says Dr. Robert (Bob) G. McCulloch, president and CEO of SIAST. “We appreciate the opportunity offered to us by SIIT. It gives our students greater exposure to industry, and it lets them learn alongside other students destined for careers in the aviation field.”
Saskatchewan Indian Institute of Technologies (SIIT) has been in operation since 1976, offering training and education programs to youth and adults in Saskatchewan. On July 1, 2000, provincial legislation in the Province of Saskatchewan recognized SIIT as a post-secondary institution by way of the Saskatchewan Indian Institute of Technologies Act. The SIIT Act has given the institution recognition from both the Indian and non- Indian communities.
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For more information please contact:
Robert Daniels, Director of Marketing and Communications
Direct: (306) 477-9336
Cellular: (306) 370-8198
Fax: (306) 373-4977
