The Province of Manitoba is investing $400,000 to complete expansions and upgrades at the Winnipeg River Learning Centre, which will offer new training programs for former workers at the Tembec paper mill in Powerview-Pine Falls.

“We are working closely with the town and the Community Adjustment
Committee (CAC) to develop new economic initiatives for the region in
the wake of the closure of the Tembec mill,” said Jennifer Howard,
labour and immigration minister. ”The Winnipeg River Learning Centre
(WRLC) is a key component in this redevelopment, and will help workers
find work in the skilled trades or create their own opportunities in the
region.”

Through a partnership supported by Manitoba Entrepreneurship, Training
and Trade (ETT) between the WRLC and Red River College (RRC), training
programs in construction electrician and carpenter are expected to be
offered starting in the late fall of this year.

The province is also working with the WRLC and RRC to deliver a training
program in the newly designated trade of construction craft worker. The
anticipated start date for this program is early 2011. All training
programs delivered by the WRLC and RRC partnership will be accredited to
prescribed apprenticeship training standards and graduates will be
eligible for credit towards an apprenticeship in the respective trades.

“The closure of the mill has significantly affected our region. The
Winnipeg River Learning Centre, as a regional training hub, will play a
major role in moving forward,” said George Harbottle, Rural Municipality
of Alexander reeve.

In December 2009, the province committed $1 million to the Community
Adjustment Committee to help the region adjust, and to assist in finding
new economic opportunities. The CAC has identified retraining as a
priority to help the former Tembec workers stay in the community and
region.

Last spring, ETT provided $600,000 in support for training initiatives
to the WRLC as part of the federal Community Adjustment Fund application
to support the development of the electrical and carpentry labs.