Kandrea Insulation donates $250,000 to support NAIT’s Insulator apprentices

Published on May 02, 2016

Over the next five years, the donation will provide the support for equipping and operating the program

Kandrea Insulation (1995) Ltd., an industrial insulation service provider for western Canada’s energy sector, has committed $250,000 to support NAIT’s Insulator apprentices. Over the next five years, the donation will provide the support for equipping and operating the program.

Jason Vogel, Kandrea’s president, says increasing the number of ticketed apprentices in the insulator trade was one of the reasons the company decided to make the donation.

“One of our key principles is to develop our people," he said. "With this support for NAIT, we want to give back to the trade by promoting training to our employees while improving our workforce—not just at Kandrea, but within the trade itself.”

Touring NAIT’s shops, Vogel says he was encouraged to see how the program has grown from when he was in school in the early 90s. “When I first entered the field, there wasn’t a lot of emphasis on apprenticeship training within the trade,” he says. “Whereas today, our clients are increasingly asking how many ticketed apprentices we have on the job. We want to show that at Kandrea, we take training very seriously.”

Apprentices in the program learn to read blueprints and apply materials to industrial, plumbing, heating and air conditioning equipment to prevent heat, cold or sound transfer. Learning to use a variety of non-conducting materials is core to the program. To assist with transporting the materials required in the classroom, a part of Kandrea’s donation was used to purchase a forklift.

“We are very appreciative of Kandrea’s support; it really couldn’t have come at a better time,” says Regis Sevigny, Insulator program chair. “We are continuously looking at ways that we can be more efficient, so our students get the most out of their training at NAIT. Upgrading this piece of equipment will help us do just that.”

At the end of the 2015/16 academic year, NAIT will have trained approximately 290 insulator apprentices currently employed by construction companies, contractors and within industrial plants throughout Alberta.

About Essential: The NAIT Campaign

Essential: The NAIT Campaign was launched in November 2014 to raise $100 million by 2018 to support student success, applied research and the construction of the Centre for Applied Technology, the largest capital project in NAIT’s 50-year-plus history. www.nait.ca/giving

About NAIT

The Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT) is a leading Canadian polytechnic, delivering education in science, technology and the environment; business; health and trades. With nearly 60,000 credit and non-credit students and a 95 per cent employer satisfaction rate, NAIT grads are essential to Alberta’s prosperity. Known for hands-on, technology-based learning, NAIT engages with business and industry in applied research and innovation and provides corporate training around the world. Recognized as one of Alberta’s top employers, NAIT provides outstanding returns on investment for its graduates, partners, the provincial government and the people of Alberta.


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