B.C. is investing $136.6 million to build a new state-of-the-art Trades and Technology Complex at the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT) Burnaby campus. The complex will be a hub for skills training and include four new buildings, benefiting more than 12,000 full- and part‐time students per year in more than 20 trades and technology programs.
“This important investment will facilitate the ongoing transformation of BCIT’s Burnaby campus and our ability to help power B.C.’s ongoing pandemic recovery by giving trades and technology learners the skills and credentials they need for today and tomorrow,” said Kathy Kinloch, president of BCIT.
The project is part of the province’s economic plan, StrongerBC: A Plan for Today, a Vision for Tomorrow. The plan is aiming to fill one million jobs over the next 10 years by investing in skills training, building resilient communities and developing an internationally competitive low-carbon economy.
At the heart of the complex will be a new four-storey Trades and Technology Centre. Showcasing BCIT’s unique approach to trades education, the purpose-built space will foster immersive, inter-disciplinary collaboration between students in trades, technology, engineering, and architecture studies. It will combine workshops, simulation, a maker space, and a trades discovery centre.
The development will also include a Marine and Mass Timber Workshop, a Carpentry Pavilion constructed of mass timber, a Campus Services Building, and the ecological restoration of Guichon Creek.
“Investing in new trades training infrastructure at BCIT is a crucial part of equipping students for the jobs of the future while supporting a clean, innovative economy. The new Trades and Technology Complex will help ensure future students have access to the best tools, instruction and equipment needed to meet the demand for an estimated 85,000 new trades jobs expected over the next 10 years,” said Anne Kang, minister of advanced education and skills training.
Another $26 million will be provided by BCIT, bringing the total project cost to $162.6 million. Construction is anticipated to start in 2023.
