Advanced Skills Centre

Project update: October 28, 2024

Since securing a $43 million commitment from the Government of Alberta, we have been working to address key areas of progress related to the Advanced Skills Centre.

Read more

Our vision for the Advanced Skills Centre

NAIT has moved into the design phase for the state-of-the-art Advanced Skills Centre. Located on Treaty 6 Territory on the north side of Main Campus, the ASC will expand NAIT’s capacity to deliver trades and technology programming in alignment with the future needs of Alberta’s economy.   

Our vision is to deliver the most comprehensive, leading-edge apprenticeship and technology-based education anywhere in Canada. To achieve that vision, the ASC will:  

  • increase connectivity between programs to better simulate the realities of the workplace, providing students with a broader understanding of workplace dynamics and how their chosen career intersects with other professions  
  • adapt to deliver new programs and skills, including upskilling and reskilling, to support changes in labour market demand  
  • provide a more flexible and adaptable learning space to meet the evolving needs and demands of industry  
  • serve as a vibrant exploration and innovation hub for K-12 partners, community groups, underrepresented groups such as women, Indigenous people and new Canadians to showcase trades and technology careers to the next generation of learners  
  • transform NAIT’s existing skilled trades and technology infrastructure to better integrate new technologies and innovations in program delivery while driving operational efficiencies.

Project overview

Location Main Campus - Edmonton, Alberta
Stage Planning & Design
Budget Planning and design - $43M over 3 years
Delivery Methodology Contract Manager at Risk
Prime Consultant

Design (currently in procurement phase)

Governance

NAIT has taken a pragmatic and targeted approach to ensure that everything we do is continually aligned with our key principles of on time, on budget and on vision. To ensure we have strong oversight for this transformational project, NAIT has established a governance structure that provides clear accountabilities and decision-making authority for the Advanced Skills Centre project.

The governance structure, which includes a newly constituted committee of the Board of Governors, defines and differentiates the roles of the Board, NAIT Executives, and NAIT staff and contractors working on the project.

Collectively, the committee will have expertise and experience in, among other things, construction project delivery and project management, financial acumen, risk management, governance and strategic planning.

Male trades student with safety glasses and ear protection posses with a gas tank.

Staying connected

A project of this scale can only succeed if key stakeholders and partners are engaged early to understand and provide feedback on our plans. NAIT's broad engagement strategy continues to validate the critical need for the Advanced Skills Centre. 

NAIT is building stakeholder support for the project by acknowledging the significant workforce challenges faced by businesses, industries and sectors. Only through the Advanced Skills Centre will NAIT be able to address these workforce challenges, in support of our industry partners and the communities they serve. 

The Government of Alberta has recognized the incredible impact this project can have and provided an initial planning and design commitment in Budget 2024 of $43 million over 3 years.

Stay connected to receive the most up to date information on the planning and design for the Advanced Skills Centre.

Get involved

Alberta is leading the way in skills and trades education. The Advanced Skills Centre at NAIT will see more apprentices trained in four sectors critical to our economy, while fostering innovation not just in the Edmonton region, but throughout northern Alberta and beyond.

Honourable Rajan Sawhney, Minister of Advanced Education

Simply put, NAIT’s Advanced Skills Centre is the right solution at the right time.

We have a real opportunity to tackle Alberta’s skilled labour shortage.

Steve Lenarduzzi, President of Clark Builders

Designed in partnership with industry, NAIT’s state-of-the-art Advanced Skills Centre will attract and graduate the workers critical to growing and diversifying the province’s economy.

The future belongs to those who are prepared to make the right decisions today to reap the benefits of tomorrow.

Mike Burt, Vice President & Global Director Climate and Energy Dow Chemical

Inside the Advanced Skills Centre

The Advanced Skills Centre will be home to a modern, transformative, diverse, and inclusive skills and technology-based training experience that will shape a resilient, innovative, and future-ready workforce. The Advanced Skills Centre will contain the following:

  • up to an estimated 640,000 square feet of new space on Main Campus
    • the future site of the ASC is located on the former Edmonton Bus Barns property at the north end of Main Campus
  • capacity expansion to train 4,200 more apprentices (*based on 2023/24 apprenticeship numbers and using conventional delivery methods)
  • flexibility at its core to ensure programs are scalable to meet changes in labour market demand, and the delivery of new programs across the key sectors of construction, transportation, energy, and advanced manufacturing  

  • labs and training spaces better able to support an interdisciplinary approach to learning and training 

  • the ability to support year-round trades exploration activities that engage youth, women, and newcomers as well as learners from both Indigenous and diverse communities  

  • LEED silver certification
Carpentry student works in a workshop

Suppliers' information

NAIT’s core values are a central component of our culture. They are a guiding light for both staff and students, defining how we interact with each other and what we expect from each other.

Our commitment to fostering strong partnerships with our suppliers is essential to our mission of providing quality education and services to our students and community. We believe that collaboration and integrity are key to achieving mutual success.

We expect those who are engaged with NAIT on critical projects like the Advanced Skills Centre will reflect our core values in their day-to-day dealings with our staff, contractors and vendors.

  • Creativity
  • Collaboration
  • Accountability
  • Celebration
  • Respect

NAIT's Vision, Promises and Values

4 students smiling with art of angel wings in background

Doing business with NAIT

NAIT’s procurement process is designed to be fair, open, transparent, and non-discriminatory.  We promote equal opportunities by complying with all relevant trade agreements and legislation established for our municipalities, academic institutions, the schools and hospitals (MASH) sector. Public procurement tenders are conducted for purchases above these thresholds under the New West Partnership Trade Agreement (NWPTA):

  • $75,000 for goods
  • $75,000 for services
  • $200,000 for construction

Competitive public procurement

Our procurement mission is to secure the best overall value for NAIT by ensuring optimal quality, timing, value and service while minimizing risk, and adhering to ethical conduct standards to maintain public confidence in NAIT.

To achieve this, NAIT’s procurements must be conducted with integrity, trust and impartiality. There must be no conflict, or the appearance of conflict between the private interests of board members and employees and their duty to the public. To ensure compliance with public sector procurement standards and trade agreements, all purchases above $75,000 for goods and services and $200,000 for construction are publicly tendered through a competitive bid process.

Recognizing the importance of Indigenous perspectives

NAIT has worked with Naheyawin, an Edmonton-based Indigenous-owned social enterprise organization to support our engagement with Indigenous communities. Ongoing and meaningful engagement opportunities will be built into the design and planning of the Advanced Skills Centre from now until completion.

Naheyawin Logo

Stories

Provincial funding spurs planning for Advanced Skills Centre, NAIT’s largest-ever project

Polytechnic to grow trades and technologies education with addition of 640,000-square-foot facility

New efforts aim to make trades more diverse and inclusive

‘Next in Trades’ welcomes underrepresented groups to apprenticeship education

Jill of All Trades shows female high school students futures in the trades

NAIT holds inaugural event to make trades a “top-of-mind” choice

Meet NAIT’s 3 competitors in the world’s top skills competition

WorldSkills 2022 puts top young tradespeople in the spotlight

In the news

Design Engineering: Alberta commits $43M to NAIT’s Advanced Skills Centre

The Government of Alberta is investing $43 million to plan the Advanced Skills Centre at NAIT, with the goal of transforming the nature of education in trades and related technologies at NAIT

Read more

CTV News: Alberta invests $43M to fund planning at new NAIT training facility

The province is investing $43 million for more apprentice training in Alberta.

Read more

Wood Industry: $43 Million Boost: How NAIT's New Centre Will Transform Skilled Trades Training

Alberta’s government is committing $43 million towards planning the Advanced Skills Centre (ASC) at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT).

Read more

Mechanical Business: Alberta invests in new Advanced Skills Centre at NAIT

The government of Alberta has invested $43 million to help build the new Advanced Skills Centre (ASC) at NAIT, the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology, to boost apprenticeship training

Read more
Shopping Cart Quick View
Open Shopping Cart