For the past four years, apprenticeship training for steamfitter-pipefitter at Lakeland College has been a pipe dream - but not any longer.
Thanks to approval from the Government of Alberta, Lakeland will relaunch the steamfitter-pipefitter apprenticeship training program this fall.
"There has always been a need for steamfitters and pipefitters in the region," says Dave King, dean of Lakeland's School of Trades and Technology. "We suspended the program in May 2020, but it was intended to be a temporary measure. Current economic conditions make it easier for us to offer the program, providing steamfitter- pipefitter apprentices with the classroom learning and hands-on training they need in their trade of choice."
Steamfitter-pipefitters plan, fabricate, maintain and repair piping systems used in heating, cooling, lubricating and other processes. The systems can carry water, steam, chemicals or fuels. Steamfitter-pipefitter apprentices complete a four-year term that includes a minimum of 1,560 hours of on-the-job training and eight weeks of classroom instruction each year.
At Lakeland, the program rejoins six other apprenticeship training programs, which include automotive service technician, carpenter, electrician, heavy equipment technician, parts technician (online) and welder. Training takes place in Lakeland's Trades Centre, located at the Vermilion campus.
For more information on steamfitter-pipefitter, visit lakelandcollege.ca/trades. Registration for steamfitter-pipefitter classroom instruction for the 2024-25 academic year opens May 23.
