The loss of availability of trades programs in Cowichan is a huge blow.
Vancouver Island University announced that it is shuttering the Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Mechanic, Carpentry, and Hairdressing programs in Cowichan and moving them to the Nanaimo campus. Currently the programs run out of the old Koksilah School just outside Duncan, which has been retrofitted as the trades school. VIU said expensive renovations would be needed in the near future to continue the programs there and they don't have the money.
This is really bad news for Cowichan trades students, both post-secondary and those still in high school who were able to take courses to get a leg up on their future schooling before graduation through dual credit programs. These programs see them get both high school and college credit at the same time, not to mention getting a feel for the trades to help them decide their futures.
These programs can be incredibly important to encourage students into good careers where they can thrive, exposing them to a future path they might not see otherwise. It's great for them, and for our communities as a whole, as tradespeople are in high demand.
A report published in June of 2024 by BC Building Trades said the construction industry needed to hire about 52,600 tradespeople in the next 10 years. Just look at all the building happening in Cowichan, from the new hospital going up to the numerous multi-family housing developments in the works. It's all well and good to say we need more housing, but the fact is we also need people to build it.
It would have been nice to see VIU's trades program offerings in Cowichan expand, not contract. If we want young people to move to and stay in our communities in Cowichan we need to be able to offer things like education.
We're told the dual credit programs will still exist, but we think there's no doubt it will be discouraging to have to get back and forth to Nanaimo to take them. No longer will that fit seamlessly into a school day. And will the school district bus the kids there? The logistics will be complicated. We hope this does not, in practice, put the dual credit program in Cowichan in peril.
VIU pointed out that there is public transportation available between Cowichan and Nanaimo, which is true. But that route is relatively new and trips are not that frequent throughout the day. If trades students are trying, for example, to hold down a job in Cowichan while they work their way through their courses this could have a serious impact on their ability to do so.
It's simply not great that more students will have to leave Cowichan to have educational opportunities that will open doors for their futures.
