UCFV will enter into a new phase of aerospace industry training with the purchase of its own hangar at the Abbotsford Airport. Funding of $1 million from the provincial government will enable UCFV to purchase hangar #4 from Conair Group Inc. Conair is providing UCFV with the hangar at a significantly reduced cost to facilitate this new training development.  

UCFV will offer its existing aircraft structures program in the renovated hangar and will work toward additional aerospace training programs in the future. For the past 18 months, the program has been operating out of another Conair hangar that was donated at no cost on a temporary basis. The new UCFV hangar will also provide a space to create a centre for research into composite repair technology in the aerospace industry. Plans are for the new hangar to be in operation early this fall.  

Premier Gordon Campbell announced provincial funding for the new UCFV hangar on June 2 as one component of a recent provincial strategy for aerospace training. The strategy includes a $20-million investment to fund infrastructure, so that institutions can deliver more than 500 new student spaces in aerospace and related programming throughout British Columbia by 2005-06. Labour-force analysis by industry demonstrates a growing demand for skilled workers, particularly in the maintenance and manufacturing sub-sectors.  In 2001, these sub-sectors employed about 4,500 skilled workers, and the industry predicts it will need 10,000 of these workers by 2011. Despite some fluctuations, the aerospace industry in BC has experienced steady overall growth over the past decade.  

UCFV President Skip Bassford chairs the British Columbia Aerospace Consortium, a province-wide committee charged with the task of overseeing the implementation of the new training strategy that will include programs offered by UCFV.  

"The provincial aerospace training strategy will provide a blueprint for the future of this essential aspect of the aerospace industry," says President Bassford. "At UCFV in particular, we are very pleased the provincial government has recognized our success to date in training skilled workers for the aerospace industry, and has signaled its support for further expansion in this area in the future.  

"UCFV will now have a permanent training base at the Abbotsford Airport capable of contributing even more significantly to the success of this important economic engine in our community," says Bassford.  

Barry Marsden, president of Conair Group Inc. and chair of Cascade Aerospace Inc., says the two companies were built on the philosophy that highly skilled, service-oriented employees are the foundation of every successful business. "I want to congratulate both UCFV and the Government of British Columbia for their vision in establishing a training program that meets the needs of BC's growing aerospace industry," says Marsden. "We are absolutely delighted with the quality of graduates from the UCFV program. They are not only highly trained, they also integrate extremely well into our workplace."  

Introduced last year, the UCFV aircraft structures program will train approximately 50 technicians per year who are expected to find many good employment opportunities in the region. Eighteen new students start the program every four months. Next year an additional group of secondary students from regional school districts will also be admitted. The program is in high demand with about 80 students on waiting lists.  

Earlier this year, following a detailed accreditation process, UCFV received final approval as an Approved Training Organization (ATO) from Transport Canada .  

UCFV plans to expand training options to include avionics and aircraft mechanical engineering, and other related aerospace training programs in the future. In addition, the university plans to move its current structures repair program out of the temporary hangar space provided by Conair this summer, following approximately $500,000 in renovations that will make the new hangar an excellent training facility.  

"The cost savings realized by our support from Conair has made it possible for us to put this project together and to clearly demonstrate to the provincial government, the kind of partnership commitment we have from the aerospace industry," says President Bassford.  

In addition to future plans for additional training options, the new hangar will enable UCFV to build on the success of its Aircraft Structures Technician program by creating a research centre focused on composite repair technology in the aerospace industry. A recent feasibility study identified a need for research on recent advances in the development of composite materials applications, and more particularly on composite repair technology.  

The proposed new research centre at UCFV will address these issues and needs. The centre would be the first of its kind in western Canada . The City of Abbotsford has identified aerospace-related industry as a key engine of growth for the local economy.