N.L. trades schools boom as Alberta work slows

Enrolment in trade schools in Newfoundland and Labrador is booming, all because of the economic downturn in the oil fields of Alberta, according to some instructors.

Workers from the province who had been employed in the oilsands, who were laid off in the winter season, have returned to Newfoundland and Labrador to upgrade their skills in the classroom.

Trades schools, such as Academy Canada, a private college with campuses in St. John's and Corner Brook, often report an increase in the winter months as apprentices experience annual layoffs and return to school for upgrading. But this year Academy Canada reports enrolment has increased 20 per cent from numbers at the same time in 2007.

In the steamfitter shop at the campus, 75 per cent of the students are apprentices who recently returned from work camps in Alberta because of layoffs.

Jim Hedges, an electrical instructor at the college in St. John's, told CBC News he has never seen such an increase.

"This year's been a marked increase over what it's been in the past," he said. "And when you're going to be off anyway, it's a big incentive."

Returning to school to upgrade skills during layoffs can often lead to a promotion if and when a worker returns to a job site.

"Employers look at how much training you got and think it makes you more reliable, and you can probably train others," said student Robert Walsh from Lewisporte.

Officials with the College of the North Atlantic, the province's public college, said they are expecting increases in the 20 per cent range as well.

Now the trades colleges are struggling to find enough instructors to meet the demand.

The recent fall in oil prices has caused many producers, including Suncor Energy Inc., a major player in the Alberta oil field, to cancel expansion plans.