NAIT has formed a Skilled Trades Council to guide planning for its Advanced Skills Centre (ASC), a training facility that will add capacity for 5,500 additional trades learners every year at its Edmonton campus.
Who is on the Council
The Skilled Trades Council includes Naseem Bashir, Co‑Chair and Executive Chair of Originus Ltd., Doreen Cole, Co‑Chair and Alberta energy executive, Carla Madra, CEO of Women Building Futures, and Jason Portas, Vice President at PCL Construction. Together they bring experience leading major energy operations, delivering complex infrastructure projects, advancing workforce development and driving innovation across engineering and technology. Their role is to ensure the ASC reflects the realities of modern worksites and the future of the industries it is built to serve. CLRA is grateful for the leadership and time these council members are contributing as Alberta works to strengthen the province’s skilled trades training capacity.
What Is the Advanced Skills Centre
The ASC will bring together 29 trades and technology programs under one roof, enabling NAIT to train more than 15,000 students annually across industries. The facility is in its final year of planning and design and is backed by provincial funding.
The ASC is a new, long-term investment in skilled workforce training that Alberta needs. With about 21% of Canada’s construction workforce retiring in the next 10 years and BuildForce Canada projecting the province must recruit and retain 59,000 construction trades professionals over the next decade, the province must find many ways to help meet this demand.
What This Means for CLRA Members
With major projects on the horizon across the province, Alberta’s construction industry needs a trained workforce to deliver the work ahead. Pressure on the skilled labour pool continues to grow, making expanded training capacity essential.
The ASC creates more pathways into the trades for workers across the province, including women, newcomers and Indigenous learners who remain underrepresented in the workforce. When it opens, the facility will be one of the most advanced trades education environments in Canada.
The ASC is an important step toward ensuring industry has the skilled workers it needs in the years ahead and the Skilled Trades Council reflects the kind of industry leadership that supports a strong and reliable construction workforce.
Learn more about the Advanced Skills Centre | Read NAIT’s announcement
