March 19, 2008
Province Unveils New Sponsorship Initiative For Northern And Rural Manitoba Students
Five students from rural and northern Manitoba took part in a high-school hiring initiative and are now enrolled in engineering-related post-secondary studies, benefiting from a new sponsorship program, Infrastructure and Transportation Minister Ron Lemieux announced today.
“It is important to encourage and support students from rural and northern parts of the province to pursue an education in the engineering field and then seek employment near their homes as we have significant infrastructure located in these regions,” said Lemieux. “This new assistance also builds upon the Department of Infrastructure and Transportation’s own civil service renewal strategy aimed at bringing in new staff to help meet current and future human resource needs.”
The program offers $1,000 per student toward their first year of post-secondary education and also a summer student position with Manitoba Infrastructure and Transportation for each year the student continues their engineering-related studies at the post-secondary level.
The first award recipients are:
· Jordan Bull, Carberry – first year, faculty of engineering, University of Manitoba;
· Andreas Boxhorn, Steinbach – first year, civil engineering technology, Red River College, Winnipeg.
· Linden Swaenepoel, Souris – civil technician, Assiniboine Community College, Brandon;
· Sean Larson, Swan River – first year, faculty of engineering, University of Alberta; and
· Sean Babulic, Thompson – first year, civil engineering program, University of Waterloo, Ontario.
In rural and northern Manitoba, there are job opportunities for people with an engineering-related background in the design, construction and maintenance of the province’s highways, bridges and overpasses, as well as with the provincial drainage system and at northern airports and marine locations.
In 2007, 29 grade 11 and 12 students from rural and northern Manitoba schools took part in Manitoba Infrastructure and Transportation’s high-school hiring initiative, which offers summer employment for students who meet eligibility requirements.
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