Clearing the confusion

Holland College confirms suspension of pipefitting program but disputes lack of progress on campus upgrades

A Holland College spokesperson has confirmed the school’s pipefitting program will not be offered this year while also saying upgrades to the Georgetown campus are nearly complete.

Vice-president of programs Sandy MacDonald issued a statement Monday responding to opposition MLA Steven Myers, who was quoted last week saying the pipefitting program had been “quietly axed” and that $741,768 in campus upgrades scheduled for this summer had yet to begin.

MacDonald said the pipefitting program has been suspended for the 2017/2018 academic year due to low enrolment.

“Program suspensions are a common occurrence at the college. It’s part of our standard operating procedure to suspend a program until labour market conditions improve and our graduates can find employment,” said MacDonald, adding that the program is already being marketed for a return in the 2018/2019 academic year.

MacDonald and a spokesperson for the provincial department of workforce and advanced learning also took Myers to task over his statement on the upgrades, which were announced in June with joint federal and provincial funding.

While Myers said none of the work has moved ahead, the department spokesperson said Holland College has provided regular updates on the construction progress, which is expected to be complete by the end of 2017.

“The work is mostly on the inside, likely not visible from the street,” said the spokesperson. “This funding has not been cut and it is still being used for improvements to Holland College in Georgetown.”

The spokesperson added the government funding was not for a specific program but to enhance student experience and improve sustainability at the campus.

MacDonald said about 90 per cent of the upgrades have been completed, including $374,000 in mechanical upgrades to air handling, HVAC and plumbing, as well as $158,000 for building envelope work like windows, doors and the roof upgrades.

MacDonald said there has also been $120,000 in electrical upgrades and $66,000 in interior upgrades.

He noted that the college originally hoped to include a new addition in the upgrades.

“But once all the tenders came back, we realized that the budget would only go far enough to cover the upgrading work and this was deemed a priority over the addition,” he said.

Holland College now offers two programs, plumbing and welding, at the Georgetown Centre. MacDonald said both have “healthy enrolments.”

“The work is mostly on the inside, likely not visible from the street. This funding has not been cut and it is still being used for improvements to Holland College in Georgetown.” Sandy MacDonald