Trades and Applied Technology

The tuition-free program helps newcomers transition into trades education.­­

Newcomers to Canada who want to pursue a career in the trades will get some extra help starting this September, thanks to a new program at Vancouver Island University (VIU).

Called Trades Pathways for Newcomers, the cohort-based bridging program supports newcomers looking for a career in the trades by ensuring they have the skills, knowledge and supports to successfully transition into the educational programs that will get them there.

Members of the Junior Culinary Olympic Team Canada and Team BC are hosting a reception and banquet-style dinner event.

Top chefs and apprentices from around the province and across the country are coming to VIU this month as part of their continuing path to the Olympics – the Culinary Olympics to be precise.

Students will learn new technology and participate in the construction process.

Students in the Carpentry program at Vancouver Island University (VIU) will be playing a big role in a new community project and it’s all for a good cause.

The initiative takes BC teaching and learning expertise global.

Vancouver Island University (VIU) is expanding the footprint of its international cooperation efforts in East Africa with the help of two other BC post-secondary partners.

First Class Power Engineer David Babich has almost half a century of experience working in the trade in a variety of industries from pulp mills to textile manufacturing facilities all around the world. He is the chair and instructor of VIU’s Power Engineering program and says he is excited about the ways his students can be part of the move to eliminating pollution as power systems evolve and move into green technology. 

Babich started his career in the power plant at the Celgar Pulp Mill in Castlegar, BC, in 1972 and never looked back.

Community partnership ensures VIU carpentry students continue to get experience working on a real construction site while maintaining physical distancing guidelines.

Experiential learning is vital for construction trades students to gain the skills they need to enter the homebuilding sector, but the COVID-19 pandemic threw a new challenge at the Vancouver Island University (VIU) Carpentry program this year – how to give students these experiences while following physical distancing guidelines.  

VIU Horticulture facility ramps up the cultivation of vegetable starters for Nanaimo Foodshare’s Good Food Box Program.

Vancouver Island University (VIU) has joined with others in the effort to meet the anticipated demand for affordable food during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

VIU’s G.R. Paine Horticultural Training Centre has made space in its greenhouses this spring to grow more seedlings for transplanting into the fertile fields that Nanaimo Foodshare Society uses for vegetable production. 

University rises to the challenge of meeting the demand for certified power engineers to sustain the power and energy needs of growing communities.

Power engineers aren’t the most visible people in our workforce, but the reality is, the world can’t operate without them. 

VIU and Camosun College partnership will create new career pathways in the trades for Indigenous Peoples.

A new program sponsored by the Province of BC and the Industry Training Authority BC (ITA) will provide an opportunity for Indigenous students to explore career options in trades at Vancouver Island University’s (VIU’s) Cowichan Campus and Camosun College.