-by Hub Staff
The foyer of the Georgian College's Marine Training Facility buzzed excitedly this morning with a $3.9 million funding announcement, shared equally by the provincial and federal governments. The funds to support the construction of a Marine Emergency Duties (MED) Training and Research Centre come almost a year after Grey County pledged 2 million dollars to the project. Georgian College and its industry supporters will cover the remaining costs of the $7 million expansion already under construction on the campus. The new facility will include a firefighting simulator and new classroom and office space, allowing Georgian's Owen Sound campus to offer a complete MED training in a single location. Previously, Georgian students split their training between the Owen Sound campus and a federally run facility in Port Colborne that was closed in 2013.
Former Chair of the Georgian College Board Bill Vanwyck saidthat this project has been necessary for years. "We knew we had to get out of the Port Colborne facility. It just wasn't practical. We would never have been able to grow there; this let's us grow. The advantage here now is that hopefully by September 2016 everything will be under one roof." When completed, the Georgian MED facility will be the only facility of its kind in Central Canada. Since the federal government shuttered its Port Colborne facility as part of its divestiture program, Georgian students have had to travel as far away as Newfoundland to complete the required MED training that includes firefighting, lifeboat launching, and first aid training.
The new MED facility will also attract professional mariners and seafarers. Thomas Foster, a Consultant to Centre for Marine Training and Research, said that "With the changes to Marine Personal Regulations that are coming forward seafarers, regardless of their roles on convention ships, are going to have to refresh their MEDs every 5 years. The potential for students is ongoing and there's going to be demand because average age of seafarers is 59 for both domestic and convention"
Although the flashiest expansion is the fire fighting simulator, new office and conference spaces will allow Georgian to expand programs including corporate training. According to Vanwyck, increasing capacity for corporate training will further strengthen the relationship with their students' potential employers.
Georgian staff expect training to bring in between 500 and 1000 additional students and professionals annually. The dignitaries were quick to point out that additional visiting students will have to spend money directly in Owen Sound while here. Although recertification takes only 2-5 days, organizers announced an expected $5 million impact on the local economy.
Dr. MaryLynn West-Moynes, CEO of Georgian College, said the college has actively been pursuing this file for two and a half years. She credited Grey County's commitment with making it easier to secure funding from higher levels of government.
Although today's announcement is good news for Owen Sound and the local Georgian Campus, the downloading of much of the responsibility and expense of the facilities from the federal to lower tiers of government has not been without criticism. According to Foster, further proposed federal divestment of the Owen Sound harbour will not threaten Georgian's training however, because the college has a long term lease agreement with Great Lakes Elevators.
