Last week the Finishing Trades Institute of BC had the privilege of hosting, Minister of Advanced Education, Skills and Training, Melanie Mark, as she and some of her support staff toured our facility. Minister Mark also happens to be the first ever woman elected to the BC Provincial Government from a First nations Background.
This is worthy of note due to the fact that the FTI of BC has recently entered into a partnership with the Squamish Nation Trades Training Facility to deliver a foundation program in the Wall and Ceiling trades and First nation students enrolled in this program were in class on the day of the tour. Minister Mark was able to meet with these students and get their feedback as to their experience at our school, which we are happy to report, was very positive.
The Minister admitted that her background isn’t in construction and that the learning curve for her will be steep, which is why she wanted to see for herself some of what goes into our apprenticeship training programs. However, after her tour and subsequent meeting with other Building Trades Coordinators she at least had a starting point from where she could start that learning curve from.
We have every confidence that the Minister will be a quick learner and given her passion and genuine interest in what we at the Finishing Trades do, we are confident that she will be using the FTI and all of the Building Trades as a valuable resource in her endeavour to assist us in developing superior trades people.
Minister, Melanie Mark, centre, poses with students from the Squamish First Nation at the FTI of BC.
Glazing Instructor, Mark Longmore addresses guests of the FTI of BC